Life is not a Shoujo Manga
by Miss Nanami-chan
Summary: Katsuko Sharaku has a best friend. Said best friend has super-powers and a despicable arch-nemesis. Her best friend only wants her to be safe, the despicable arch-nemesis loves placing her in troubling situations and Katsuko only wants everybody to get along. Is that really so much to ask for? A story of a girl just trying to survive in an unordinary world. OC
1. Prologue, Thursday

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

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 **A/N: All right, I spent the entire night rehauling this whole story format! To those of you checking back in on this story, I want to let you know it's been cut up into smaller, bitesized peices because I found out I cannot do the monster chapters like last time. I just get overwhelmed and the story suffers, getting left behind and in a little corner to be neglected. So, to manage this problem I am going to post smaller chapters more like my other story 'The** **Uchiha and his Cat' and do glimpses instead of post 14k every three or so months. If you're caught up and looking for the new chapter head on to the end.**

 **To any new readers, I hope you enjoy the story!**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters! Promise.**

 **WARNING! RATED M! For the ramblings of a madwoman. A bit of language on the side.**

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 **Prologue: "Thursday"**

 _"Love is rare, life is strange, nothing lasts and people change."_

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 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

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Normal.

What exactly is the definition of normal?

Is it just how we define our comfort zone? Many consider normal and safe to go hand-in-hand with one another. Is normal how we draw the lines between what we consider to be safe and what we think might be dangerous? Or is the term 'Normal' just a label for what everyone else considers to be socially acceptable?

It's _normal_ for the Hero of a story to be virtuous and strong and for him to beat the all the odds and save the day.

It's _normal_ for the obscenely beautiful girl he loves to have only have one function; the need to be valiantly rescued.

It's _normal_ for the Monster of the story to have no purpose other than to be something that goes bump in the night, only to be slain by the Hero in the end.

Normal.

What about the decidedly _un_ -normal? The Abnormal. Just because it's not our definition normal does that mean that it should be automatically filed as 'dangerous' and should be viewed with suspicion and wariness? What separates and prioritizes one person's normal over another?

That brings up another good question.

How do we define what is abnormal? What does the average person consider to be strange? Is it just the things that they are unused to, or is it the things that other people are unused to? Just take a moment to think about it, about all the 'Strange' things in life. The strange stories you've heard before.

 _What if_ the Hero trying to save the girl from the Monster had less than pure intentions? What if he wanted to slay the Monster just for the sport of slaying monsters?

 _What if_ the Monster hated himself just as much as everyone else did? If not even more? What if he was the one who actually needed saving?

What if... now stay with me here...

 _What if_ the girl didn't need saving?

I know, I know, you've probably heard of stories like this before. We've all heard something along those lines. But now think about why you remembered a story like that so easily.

Because it wasn't normal.

It was different. Strange.

...maybe even a little dangerous?

The strange and normal. Everyone has an opinion on it. Every one different from the last. A kiss in greeting in one country is a slap to the face in another. Really, it's all just one's perception in the end. Normal. Abnormal. How does it define who we are?

At first glance, no one would classify Katsuko Sharaku as someone who was abnormal. She herself thought that she was a fairly normal and average twenty-four year-old woman, if not a bit boring at times if she's being completely honest with herself.

To a stranger, she appeared to be polite and well-educated, mostly described as friendly when one interacted with her. When encountered on the street, she was always dressed in modest clothing. The only obvious oddity about her was the different wigs she would wear everyday.

To her friends, she was kind and considerate, usually putting others before herself. Willing to go the extra mile. Always one to speak bluntly and unafraid to make her mind known to them. Fiercely loyal to those she calls Friend.

To her best friend, she was loud and annoying. Always sticking her nose into his business when she should be minding her own and putting herself in danger by getting in his way. She fusses over him endlessly and always has something or other to nag him about. He's told her hundreds of time to get lost but he always ends up seeing her again sooner or later. She is, without a doubt, the strangest person he has ever met in his life.

Again, one wouldn't think she was strange just by looking at her. Most that personally know her wouldn't describe her as such either, most anyway. There are others, of course, that would say that she was strange simply by association.

In association to what, you might wonder?

Like an alarm warning of oncoming danger, a guttural voice echoed menacingly through the quickly emptying street. A rumbling roar filled the air.

" _IIIII-ZZZZZAAAA-YYAAAA-KUUUUUN_..."

Those that didn't have finely-tuned survival instincts opted to, instead of evacuating, pull out their shiny cellular phones and begin recording the spectacle that they would surely be bragging about to their friends for the days to come. Provided that they didn't get admitted into the hospital as a casualty of projectile street signs, of course. Pushing through the rapidly departing crowds, a young woman with a short black wig was attempting to cut through to the mass of scurrying people so that she could cross the street and make to her place of work on time.

Katsuko clicked her tongue with annoyance as someone shoved into her shoulder and didn't even bother with apologizing! _'It's just too early for this. Those two usually don't start until after lunch! What happened to after lunch?!'_ she thought miserably. If she was late to work because of this interruption, she swore that heads were going to roll!

Breaking through the crowding people, Katsuko hiked her messenger bag higher up her shoulder and crossed the street with the determination belonging to only to a woman on a mission. As she walked she cursed her decision to wear her fashionable, but sadly unfunctional heeled sandals. Much to her misfortune they were not made for speed-walking through battlegrounds. Passing by a large and brightly decorated building, Katsuko recognized the large dark-skinned man standing on the street and sent him a friendly smile.

Simon grinned widely at her and pushed a flier towards her person. "Good morning, Katsuko! You have sushi? We have half-price special today! Give you good deal!" greeted the flier-wielding giant of a man.

Katsuko gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Simon. I'm running late for work right—" Large hands gripped her upper-arms and she was lifted off her feet. The gentle giant sidestepped to avoid the projectile street sign that speared into the sidewalk adjacent to them. A misfire, if not a ricochet. "—now. I'll probably be by tonight though, I made plans to meet up with—"

" _YOU WON'T GET AWAY THIS TIME!_ " came another roar, one full of anger and obvious frustration.

Neither of them turned to look where the shout came from. There was another loud crash and sound of concrete being broken. They were steadily getting closer, Katsuko noted with concern. Simon sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Young people should no fight."

Katsuko gave the man a sympathetic shoulder pat before quickly turning and heading towards her job that she was-she checked the clock on her phone. Ten minutes 'till her shift starts! _Shit_! Mumbling a quick good-bye to Simon she ducked around the nearest corner and dread hit her in a crashing wave as she spotted two men squaring off in the street, standing between her and her destination. Neither seemed to have noticed her presence yet.

 _'Shitty-shit! I didn't think that they had gotten this close!'_ she thought with panic. There was no short-cut around she could take to avoid being spotted and still make it to work on time. She grimaced when she realized that this was probably planned before hand. Katsuko cursed inwardly. _'Damn him.'_

Katsuko considered her available options. She could just walk through and hope that she'll go unnoticed, which was highly unlikely. She could avoid them entirely and find another path and risk being late to work. Her boss was a demon from hell and wouldn't tolerate her being late again. She'd probably be fired if she was late.

She _loved_ her job.

 _Damn_ that conniving man.

With no other desirable options, Katsuko held her head high and walked down the sidewalk. Attempting to blend in with her surroundings and pray that she'd go unnoticed. She failed miserably. She had not made five full strides before she had been spotted.

" _Ohhh_?" crooned an obnoxiously smooth voice. "Is that Kitty-kat I spy? It _is_!" he cheered with delight, "Now, what are the odds of all of us meeting like this?"

 _'Damn that man to a hell filled with dead fish and wild dogs!'_ Katsuko continued to curse wildly in head. She wouldn't speak them aloud (at the present time) and give him the satisfaction of distracting her from her task. Katsuko pretended that she didn't hear him as continued down the sidewalk, face and eyes resolutely staring forward. She was very tempted to start running, fashionable sandals be damned.

He moaned in what sounded like convincing despair. "Kitty-kat is so _cold_! Did you see that Shizu-chan? She didn't even spare a glance for me!"

There was a sound of metal being torn from it's rightful place on the sidewalk.

"DON'T SPEAK TO HER, BASTARD!" roared another, more familiar and infinitely more welcome voice. She continued to speed-walk and ignore the warzone next to her as objects and knifes went flying in attempt to kill one another. She was not worried, she very much doubts that one of them will ever win these matches between them—Katsuko valiantly held in a surprised yelp when a heavy-duty trashcan cratered into the building next to her. She inhaled deeply and carefully exhaled before squaring her shoulders and continuing on her way. She didn't need to be caught up in the wake of Shizuo Heiwajima and Izaya Orihara, she reminded herself. Not right now. Right now, she needed to be at work on time.

This... this wasn't considered to be normal by most.

But to Katsuko Sharaku... _this_?

This was just Thursday morning in Ikebukuro.

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 **Prologue: "Thursday"**

 **END**

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 **A/N: Nice. This one is done. Hope you guys enjoyed!**

 **Wuv yew all!**

 _-Nanami_


	2. Chapter One, A Friend

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **A/N: So, this chapter will be in the present but then we'll get to the** _ **real**_ **new layout and see different chapters in different times. This, is now. Next time we'll see the past. I hope you enjoy this!**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters! Really, I don't.**

 **WARNING! RATED M! For language. A pretty tame chapter.**

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 **Chapter One: " A Friend"**

 _"A strong friendship doesn't need daily conversation or being together. As long as the relationship lives in the heart, true friends never part."_

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 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

Have you ever had someone in your life that you just couldn't imagine ever being without?

Katsuko did, and she thanked God every day for bringing that person into her life.

There are just too many in life that go on without that certain somebody and she pitied anyone that didn't have that person. The one who can drive you crazy yet at the same time be the only little bit of sanity left in this insane world. That one person that could push all the right buttons without even trying to. The one who could talk you back from that ledge.

Katsuko was one of the lucky ones, she knew.

The breakfast chatter wafting around the _Peach Rose Café_ was warm and lively. People in two's and three's were seated at the round glass tables both inside and outside of the crème-colored walls. Those that didn't have company would simply be content to drink one of the many specialty drinks served by the friendly staff, perhaps even treat themselves to delectable pastries. It was here that Sharaku Katsuko was a waitress, the head waitress in fact. She handled most of the day-to-day things (shopping, minding the café, overseeing the staff, dealing with the customers, baking, etc..) while her boss handled the all finances.

She really loved her job. But what she loved most about her job was getting to interact with all different kinds of people. Seeing the smalls changes they make in their day-to-day lives and getting to experience it all firsthand. She genuinely loved meeting new people and getting to know everyone she met, becoming friends. This open and friendly part of her personality more often than not endeared herself to people, making Katsuko one of the many reasons the _Peach Rose_ a favorite hang-out spot for many. It's comfortable atmosphere and friendly service draws the attention of business men and housewives to high-schooler's and young part-timers just looking for a sanctuary from the insanity of the inner city. The cheap coffee prices and plethora of treats were good, too.

Katsuko was writing up another order for Ryota, one of the younger half-timers, to deliver to a table when a long shadow came to loom over the polished wooden counter she was leaning on. Without looking up, Katsuko pointed her pen towards the younger, albeit more timid, girl manning the cash register further down.

"Momo-chan would be happy to help you if you would just move on down there." she said politely. Instead of moving, the shadow sat down on one of the stools that lined the counter and leaned forward on his arms. In the edge of her vision she spotted a crisp white dress shirt and bloodied knuckles balled into fists on the hardwood countertop. It was then she also noticed the chatter surrounding them had quieted down as well.

Without a word Katsuko turned and retrieved a tall glass and a pitcher of whole milk used for the specialty coffees, filling the glass to the rim she set it on the counter and pushed it forward. She hadn't been expecting him to drop by but she was just thankful he wasn't chanting his mantra (aloud) this time. It never fails to terrify the bejeezus out of the customers. Teal-green eyes finally lifted to meet a set of hazel as she rested her chin in her hand and met his simmering gaze head-on.

"Hi." She greeted blandly.

The bleached blonde across from her merely grunted in response as he took the milk and downed it in one go. She watched in amusement as he let out a content sigh and the last of the tension visibly drained from his body. With her free hand, Katsuko picked up his right one and brought it closer to her face so she could inspect his knuckles. The skin was broken and bleeding, nothing deep as to be expected but she still frowned.

"This is exactly why I got you those gloves for your birthday." she sighed.

She wasn't pouting, but the man in front of her thought it was pretty close.

Shizuo rolled his eyes and pulled back his hand, "They'll heal in no time... and I didn't have a chance to get put them on. When I saw that _flea bastard_ my body just reached for the nearest object to throw at him. _Not_ the gloves, Kat."

Unconsciously, her bottom lip pushed out. "That's not the _point_ , Shizu..."

His eyebrow twitched. It was too soon after encountering that _pest_ for her to use the childish nickname. Katsuko spotted his habitual tic and refilled the glass with milk and stepped away from the counter, retrieving something from the glass display case, when she returned she placed a plate in front of him.

Shizuo stared at the cookie, unimpressed. When he looked up, his friend in the black wig gave him a mildly apologetic half-smile. He exhaled, trying to reign in his annoyance. He understood that she wasn't trying to irritate him, she just has a weird possessive claim to that stupid nickname. He drank the milk slower this time, enjoying it, and picked up the treat before inspecting it closely.

"It's today's specialty, a Mocha cookie." she explained when he continued to stare at it. He made a sound of acknowledgement as he was trying to set the cookie on fire as with his glare alone. If Katsuko didn't know any better, she would've thought _Izaya_ was the one who baked the sweet. She almost laughed at the thought of _him_ , _cooking_. It was absurd to picture.

Ryota walked back into the café and Katsuko waved the dark-haired boy over. With obvious reluctance he approached cautiously, eyeing the feared Heiwajima Shizuo as if he thought he was going spin around and launch him through a wall. Repressing a snort of laughter at that thought, she handed the boy the orders for table seven and gave him a calming smile. He relaxed, if only slightly. Then the boy quickly left with a couple small French cakes meant for a couple in their honeymoon phase and Shizuo spoke up suddenly, breaking from whatever reverie he had fallen into.

"Has he tried to contact you?" he asked bluntly.

Katsuko averted her eyes to the side, not entirely comfortable with talking about the one thing that's sure to set her old friend off. They were at her workplace and she didn't think the boss would stand it if Shizu broke anything. _Again_.

"He hasn't..." she answered, and then in hopes he wouldn't hear quickly mumbled; " _...not directly._ "

Unfortunately, he had heard.

"What does _that_ mean!?" he demanded, hazel eyes simmering with anger again.

She needed to defuse the situation quickly, lest something get broken. Katsuko shrugged non chalantly, trying to play it off as not a big deal. "Deliveries I didn't order, calls at odd times of the day from random people. Little annoyances like that."

Katsuko didn't mention the attempted mugging last week as it would just unnecessarily upset her friend and put a target on the stupid middle schooler that thought she was an easy target. Not to mention that it might not even have anything to do with the information broker! She wasn't _that_ paranoid... she also didn't mention the obnoxiously colorful bouquet that arrived on her doorstep the same day as the information broker's unexpected return to Ikebukuro.

He was still giving her that intense look and Katsuko sighed, "Look, he's been trying to get me to contact him, but you shouldn't worry. It's really not a _prob—_ "

She was interrupted by a distinct _crunching_ sound.

Shizuo looked down at his clenched fist.

Katsuko stared at the sugary dust on the countertop.

"I am saddened to report that at—" she checked the clock. "—9:14 a.m. on this Thursday morning, Mocha cookie has perished in tragic, fist-related accident."

She was trying not to smile, but failing horribly.

"It did not live it's life to it's fullest." she finished solemnly.

"...sorry." Shizuo mumbled as he forcibly un-balled his fist. She rolled her eyes and pulled the towel from her apron and handed it to him, he took it gratefully and cleaned his hands.

Katsuko frowned slightly as she watched the tall man meticulously wipe the sugar and coffee dust from his hands. People make the common mistake of thinking that he was such a tough and invulnerable guy, but they didn't know that he was a huge worrywart under all that blonde. She reached out her hand, he looked up when he felt her warmth on his arm.

"Hey... I was serious when I said I never wanted anything to do with him again." she said softly, her voice sincere. Shizuo stared into her eyes for a moment before nodding and finally relaxing into his seat. Katsuko smiled at him and squeezed his arm briefly, thankful that he believed her. She placed her chin in her propped hand and looked at him from under the black fringe of her wig. "Sooo... we're still on for tonight, yeah? It's my last free night for the next two weeks, at least. The girls have already started trouble for the teachers and Angel's been dealing with a problem at her school she hasn't brought up with me yet. I'm gonna be busy soon."

"Yeah, we are." Shizuo confirmed with a nod, then frowned at her words. "And didn't the semester start a few days ago? What could they've—" he paused as his phone began to vibrate, reaching into his pocket to see the caller ID. He nodded to the neon-orange flip phone in his hand, "It's Tom-san. Probably work. I'll see you tonight, Kat."

"Remember, I'm off at six! Be safe!" Katsuko said as she went to relieve the poor girl at the register who had started to mildly panic at all the influx of boys flirting with her. She heard her old friend scoff as he got up and rumaged through his jacket, throwing down some yen for the cookie he didn't eat, causing the woman to scoff at him.

It had been on the house!

The tense and careful atmosphere that filled the area disappeared and the chatter livened up again, fueled with new whispers about the Lady Waitress and the Strongest Man in Ikebukuro. There were always going to be rumors swirling around them, all of them false of course. The truth didn't make for interesting gossip and there was nothing to be done about that. Katsuko wasn't overly fond of it but she's learned to accept this strange way of people. But, on the upside she'd found the more outrageous the rumor meant the funnier face Shizuo would make when she told him about it later. She loved to relay the particularly scandalous ones that would make him turn into a lovely shade of tomato!

Heiwajima Shizuo and Sharaku Katsuko were just friends from middle school and that was it. Nothing exciting or wondrous brought them into each other's lives. One day they were strangers who attended the same school and the next thing either of them knew, they weren't.

That was it.

* * *

 **Chapter One: "A Friend"**

 **END**

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 **A/N: Another one down.**

 **Thank you Pr1nc3ss K3nny, Shahzeb and Guest for reviewing the first chapter! I hadn't actually expected anyone to, so it was a nice surprise.**

 **I wuv yew all!**

 _-Nanami_


	3. Chapter Two, Roka High

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters! Most of them are far too pretty for me to claim them. They must run free!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! For scenes of bullying! 'Coz kids can be so mean for no reason at all.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: "Roka High"**

 _"We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason."_

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 _ **Date: April, 1999**_

 _ **(11 Years Ago)**_

* * *

 _Roka Junior High._

A thirteen-year-old girl dressed in the teal school uniform with dual messy auburn braids was contemplating the pros and cons of having to actually speak to other girls her age. It wasn't that she didn't want to be social, it was just that she had more difficulty than the other girls. Katsuko stood awkwardly on the side of her homeroom holding her two-tiered lunch that her Aunt Miyo had packed in hopes of her making new friends. It's been two weeks since school started and she's had to eat lunch made for two everyday since. She wouldn't say it aloud but she was becoming increasingly discouraged. But as her Mama always said, _'We meet the people we're supposed to when the time is just right!'_ With those words in mind, Katsuko sucked in a fortifying breath and walked up to a group of girls sitting around a couple desks that were pushed together. The girls' lively chatter quieted down as she approached.

"H-Hello!" she inwardly cringed at her stutter. As several pairs of eyes focused on her, Katsuko tried not to fidget under their sudden scrutiny. Instead she took another deep breath and posed the question that her Aunt had her rehearse every night for two weeks leading up to the start of school. "Would you like to have lunch with me?" Her speech was choppy and the foreign words rolled off her tongue awkwardly.

Was it mentioned that Katusko hardly spoke any Japanese? And that she spent the first thirteen years of her life living in sunny southern California? Well... it was all still rather new. But, she was adjusting!

Katsuko chastised herself for letting her nerves get the better of her again. This was the third time she's gotten up the nerve to ask about lunch this week. The last two attempts have gone ignored by the other girls. At first, Katsuko had thought that she was simply saying it wrong, her cousins have since then assured her that was not the case. _'Please, please, please,'_ she chanted over and over in her head like a prayer as she watched the group in front of her with hesitant hope. _'Someone, anyone... please?'_

She only wanted a friend. Someone to talk to, a confidant she could rely on. Katsuko needed _some_ sense of belonging to _somewhere_. God knew that she felt like a stranger in her new house, with all her new family that she hardly knew and speaking a strange language in a strange country _hundreds_ of miles away from her actual home. If only she could make _one_ friend here, someone to show her just a tinsy-bit of kindness or pity, then... maybe she could get through this.

There was silence from the group until one of the girls spoke, it was in Japanese and Katsuko completely failed to understand what she said. Whatever she said caused the other girls to burst into giggles, giving her mocking smiles. Katsuko's heart sunk into her stomach when they resumed talking to each other, completely her ignoring existence. She gripped the cloth handle of her lunch tighter, turning her knuckles white. Swallowing around the lump in her throat the girl turned on her heel and quickly walked out of the classroom, blinking back tears of humiliation. As soon as she made it into the hall she began running. She didn't know where she was running to, she didn't _care_ , just as long as it was somewhere else.

She ran down the barely occupied hall, ignoring the startled looks from some of the other students. Finding a flight of stairs she ran to the top, going two at a time, pushing open a heavy metal door her blurry eyes were met with blue skies and a crisp April breeze. By now her breathing was erratic and tears were threatening to spill from her teal eyes. Standing in the center of the roof she inhaled deeply, filling her chest with the stale air of the city.

Then she shouted at the top of her lungs.

" _AAAAAAHHHHHHH_! _AGGGHHHHHH-AHH-AHHHH_!"

It was official.

Katsuko _hated_ living in Japan.

It wasn't fair.

None of it was fair! Katsuko didn't want to move here in the first place! She wanted to be back home in Malibu with her Mother! She didn't want to have to learn a new language and make new friends! She wanted to live at her old house and go to her old school with all of her friends and _it wasn't fair_! She made sure to shout all these things into the air in a language she could actually understand.

The girl just wanted to go _home_.

More than she wanted to go home… she wanted her _Mama_.

Done with her minor breakdown, Katsuko leaned back against the wall under the water tower and let the cool breeze dry the tears on her face and blow loose auburn strands into her face.

"Oi."

Katsuko yelped in surprise at the sound of another voice from _directly above her_. She spun around, messy braids smacking into her face and almost tripping on her feet in the process as she moved away from the wall. The girl looked above the door and saw there was a boy leaning over the top, rubbing his fist against his eye. Katsuko thought he looked like he'd just woken up from a nice nap. Wide eyes took in his appearance, he had wild brown hair that looked like it's never known the business end of a hairbrush and piercing dark eyes that seemed to want to bore a hole into her very skull. He was wearing the teal Roka school uniform and tie but Katsuko didn't remember ever seeing him before.

He lowered his hand to glare properly at the girl. In an annoyed voice he said something Katsuko actually understood, hearing her cousins say it to one another quite often.

"Shut up."

Katsuko blinked dumbly at the messy-haired boy, realizing that he'd probably been there the whole time and heard all her shouting and pathetic sniveling. Then she scowled at him because the jerk just told a very obviously distressed girl to shut up! Her face was still wet with tears for crying out loud! She crossed her arms over her non-existent chest and gave him a defiant look.

" _No_." she said in English.

It was his turn to scowl, whether it was because he didn't understand her or if he had, she didn't know or particularly care at that moment. The wild-haired boy narrowed his eyes into slits at her, she met his glare head on with only the occasional sniffle from her earlier outburst. After a tense few minutes, the boy's face relaxed into an indifferent expression and he scoffed before mumbling something she didn't catch and disappearing from her view again. Probably to go back to sleep. Katsuko made a sound of triumph, confident and under the illusion that she totally won that stare down. She sat directly down and unwrapped her lunch to begin eating. She had a lot to eat and not a lot of time to eat it before her next class starts. Previous solemn mood replaced with misplaced anger aimed at a boy who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 _'Stupid school, stupid classmates... stupid boy.'_ Katsuko thought angrily as she stuffed a second rice ball into her mouth, filling both her cheeks and making her resemble an irate chipmunk.

Another day, another lunch for two eaten by one.

* * *

Katsuko stared at the black marker writing that defaced her once clean desk. There was also a poorly-drawn picture of a very round girl with two braids eating a lot of food, she guessed that was supposed to be her. Katsuko assumed that the writing said some things that were supposed to hurt her feelings but... she couldn't help but feel pity for the bullies because they really hadn't thought through their prank. Katsuko couldn't read Japanese. She could hardly _speak_ the language, so what exactly made them think that she'd be able to _read_ it? She felt bad for them, she really did. They were probably going to have problems later on in life, Katsuko didn't doubt that. She made a note to mention them in her prayers before she went to bed that night.

She heard snickering coming from behind her, looking over her shoulder she spotted some of her female classmates ' _discretely_ ' pointing at her with mocking smiles. She didn't remember their names, Katsuko wasn't very good at pronouncing names. Even back home in Malibu only her Father had ever called her by Katsuko on the rare occasions that he would actually be at home. Sometimes her Mama had called her by her full name when she was in trouble but that rarer than her Father's visits.

Everyone had always known her as just _Kat_.

With a stinging in her heart and a sudden longing for the beaches and waves of home, Kastuko simply sat at her desk. Already forgetting about the crude writing under her elbows. She rested her head on her arms and tried to remember the feeling of the sand of Zuma beach under her feet. The spray of the cold water on her face. The heat of the sun beating down on her neck. The way her heart would begin to race when she swam out on her board...

" _Haaah_..." she sighed despondently.

The sky isn't as blue in the city.

Katsuko honestly wondered how she was going to continue living in Japan. While waiting for class to begin, she entertained ideas of running away, back to California. Maybe she could stow away on a ship and be back home by next week? Just like in the movies! Then she'd be able to make it to Jenna's birthday party on time, all the girls in their class had been looking forward to that for months. Jenna's Dad had hired a band to sing for the party and it was supposed to be the most fantastic party of the year! Katsuko honestly didn't think that her Father would mind if she went back to California. He definitely wouldn't come after her like they do in the movies.

 _'Mama would've.'_ she thought. Katsuko knew that her Mama would have searched the deepest ravines of the seven seas and scale the highest mountains in the world just for the chance to see her again. The girl's fanciful daydreams were cut short as the teacher finally arrived. When he saw the state of Katsuko's desk, he turned to the rest of the class and she thinks he demanded those responsible to come forward.

No one did.

After his shoulders began to sag, he asked something else in a more tired voice. She guessed that he had asked if anyone had seen who did it.

No one spoke up.

She ended up eating her lunch for two on the roof again.

The same wild-haired boy was there and Katsuko wondered if he actually went to his classes. They didn't talk. He didn't question why she was eating lunch by herself on the roof and she returned the favor by not pestering him with her poor attempts at speech while he was trying to doze off.

* * *

There wasn't many people Katsuko didn't like. In fact, she pretty much liked most people regardless of how they felt about her. That doesn't mean to say that she liked all kinds of people. She had a particular dislike for _stupid people_ for example. For the last week she's had to come to school every day and clean her desk of graffiti only for it to reappear the next day. She could deal with that, it became routine. She didn't really mind as they couldn't hurt her feelings because they still hadn't realized that she couldn't read it. It was by chance that Katsuko had arrived at class earlier than usual. Her cousins had gotten into a fight (both verbally and physically) that morning and she and her three cousins all left for school to escape Aunt Miyo's lecture on the importance of familial harmony. When she finally made it to class mostly unscathed by her relations, she saw the same girls that had been harassing her were drawing on another desk, giggling all the while. As soon as she stepped in, she was noticed and the girls scattered, hurriedly moving back to their seats.

A girl with a short, bob-cut hairstyle came in not long after that, Katsuko recognized that she was one of the nicer of her classmates but chronically shy. It was also her desk that had been vandalized today. When the girl read the graffiti she placed her hand over her mouth and began to cry. Snickers broke out and it was not long until the teacher arrived on the scene of a crying girl and her defaced desk.

He asked someone step up and take responsibility.

No one did.

Again, he asked with a sigh if someone saw something.

Her class was filled with stupid people Katsuko learned sadly.

One pale hand in the entire classroom raised, drawing everyone's attention.

It was such a _simple_ act.

Looking back on that day, a grown Katsuko often wonders what would've happened to her life if she hadn't raised her hand? If she had just turned a blind-eye like the rest of her peers, would she have met that one person she couldn't imagine living her life without? She supposes that she'll never know the answer to that question. All she does know is that there isn't a day that goes by when she isn't thankful for it. No matter all the crazy consequences that followed that simple act.

* * *

 **Chapter Two: " Roka High"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **'Nother one down.** **Thank you Pr1nc3ss K3nny** **and Guest** **for reviewing** **first** **chapter!**

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time, luvs!**

 _-Nanami_


	4. Chapter Three, Connections

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara' or any of the characters! I would want Izaya's jacket if I did. It looks warm.**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Not much actually. We're good!**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: "Connections"**

 _"The most important things in Life are the connections you make with others."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

Nobody wants to be alone.

It's a simple fact of life. Universal fact, actually. Sure, there are sometimes when we want some space or we just don't want to deal with other people, opting to stay in the background. That's also a fact of life. But nobody wants to _truly_ be alone. Human's are social creatures, all humans on some level want to connect with someone else. Whether to have an enjoyable time with, to let out all our frustrations to, or just to sit and have a cup of coffee with. It's in our nature to desire that connection. Our entire being demands that connection.

Here, in Ikebukuro, were many people that craved such connections.

Even if they didn't think so.

It was a little after six in the evening and the nighttime crowds were beginning to come out in full force. The lights of the city had been lit and they decorated the streets and buildings in mesmerizing and eye-catching colors and pictures. Tonight, two students of Raira Academy walked together down the busy streets.

"Kida-kun... where exactly are we going?" the dark-haired boy asked his friend curiously. As much as he was enjoying soaking up the sights, he was interested to know what his friend had in mind.

"Hmm~ I dunno." the blonde beside him shrugged uncaringly, placing his hands behind his head. "Where do you want to go?"

Mikado thought about it for a moment. They could go see more of the Sunshine 60, he'd heard there was an aquarium there and he'd never been to one before. Or maybe visit another bookstore? Or perhaps... he should just do some shopping. Mikado didn't have much for food back at his small apartment. Speaking of which... "I'm actually kind of hungry." he realized aloud.

His blonde friend spun around to face him, a grin on his face. "Okay, then! I know some great places!" And with a destination in mind, Masaomi suddenly turned and began heading in a new direction. As they passed through the crowded streets and down the less-populated alleys, Mikado was once again struck with the thought that without Masaomi by his side he'd have been hopelessly lost. As the two teenagers walked, they were surprised to hear a woman's voice call out after them. Or, after call Masaomi more specifically.

"Kida-kun!? Kida-kun, is that...? It is you! Kida-kun!" the feminine voice was excited and gentle as she called out. As Masaomi halted and turned towards the direction of the voice, Mikado did as well. There was woman waving at them from farther up the street.

 _'Is she another one of Kida-kun's friends?'_ Mikado wondered idly. His mind drifted to the strange individuals Masaomi had already introduced him to since his arrival in Ikebukuro. From Simon the giant who works at a place that serves Russian Sushi, the odd group of friends that all hung out of a van to the unsettling Orihara Izaya. She was gesturing for them to come over to her. Masaomi hesitated for a moment before smiling brightly and walking right up to the woman. Mikado followed his friend uncertainly, but as he walked towards the woman he couldn't stop himself from inspecting her appearance closer.

She was taller than them both, standing above himself and Masaomi by a few inches. She was wearing a plain beige skirt that reached her calves and a white sleeveless shirt under a hoodie that ten sizes too large for her as it completely engulfed her frame, the hem of it ending around her thighs. He thought that was a rather strange outfit. He's observed that most girls in this city usually wear more form fitting clothing, things that flatter their shape. That was not the case with this woman. _'Wow! She's pretty.'_ he thought. Her features were delicate and soft, she looked young but the mature and graceful air she held around her made Mikado doubt she could be any younger than twenty. Her black hair was cut into perfectly even bob, framing her face with what he recognized as a hime-cut. Though he found her hair odd he had to admit the woman's most attention grabbing feature had to be her green-blue iris. They shone brightly against the city lights, contrasting greatly against her dark hair and pale skin. As her oddly bright eyes watched the two of them approach the surrounding air became warm and friendly. Mikado didn't even know this woman's name, yet, he felt his earlier uneasiness wash away like it was never even there.

"Kat-chan~" Masaomi greeted cheerfully. "You're looking lovely today as ever! I like your hair today. Very sophisticated. Is it new?"

A pretty smile curled her lips as she regarded the blonde. "Kida-kun, it's good to see you're as troublesome as usual." then she added in a softer tone. "...it's been awhile since I've seen you at the café."

Masaomi scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Ahh... I've been really swamped with school and homework, y'know? I even got a job over the summer too! All the way over in East 'bukuro."

Mikado frowned, confused. School just started a couple days ago and Masaomi hadn't mentioned a getting a job over the summer before this moment, surely Masaomi would've mentioned something like that to him. So why would he lie to the woman? Mikado began to feel that earlier uneasiness creep back up. The woman seemed to believe him as she nodded understandingly. Warm teal eyes glanced from the blonde to the brunette standing slightly behind him and Mikado found himself fumbling to introduce himself. "Ah! I'm nice—I-I mean, it's nice to meet me—Wait! I mean—"

Masaomi interrupted his bungled introduction with an exaggerated wave towards the woman. "Buddy, I am pleased to introduce you to one Sharaku Katsuko, head waitress of the illustrious _Peach Rose Café_! One of the best shops around to take a pretty girl on a date. Kat-chan, this is my best friend, Ryūgamine Mikado. Forgive his babbling, he's _new_. He moved to Ikebukuro just last week." he said apologetically to the woman.

Katsuko watched Masaomi's display with amusement clear in her eyes, she then gifted Mikado with a smile that had him set completely at ease again. He wondered if that was natural or if she had to practice having such a calming smile like that? "It's nice to meet you as well, Ryūgamine-san. I hope Ikebukuro has been treating you well during your time here." she inquired politely. She didn't make any sort of reaction to his name, he noted. The same had been with his classmates a few days ago.

He nodded quickly, "It's been incredible! The city is like nothing I've ever seen before. I... I've actually never visited to Tokyo before coming to Ikebukuro." he confessed with a sheepish smile.

The corner of Katsuko's lips pulled back into a smirk and Mikado found himself strangely surprised that she was capable of making an expression like that. "Well, I can one-up you on that, Ryūgamine-san. I'd never visited _Japan_ before I came to live in Ikebukuro."

Mikado's eyes widened, _'She wasn't born in Japan? She didn't have an accent or anything, I would've never have guessed!'_

"Ehh? You never told be about that, Kat-chan!" Masaomi complained.

She was grinning now, a teasing tilt in her voice. "Well you never asked, Kida-kun. And it doesn't matter much as I've lived in Ikebukuro for nearly half my life now."

"Uhm, Sharaku-san—"

"— _Katsuko_ , please." she interjected.

"Okay... Katsuko-san." Mikado felt odd referring to her so familiarly, they just met only minutes ago. Was this just how people acted here? "Can I ask where you're from? Where you were born, I mean." He had no idea where he got the confidence to ask a such personal question of a complete stranger but he couldn't help but feel curious as to the answer. Mikado wanted to know if she had anything in common with Masaomi and himself. Katsuko-san looked like she belonged here just as much as Masaomi did, like they've just always been a part of the city. Was it just a natural part of living in Ikebukuro? Would the same thing eventually happen to him? Or was it something else entirely?

She answered easily enough, "I was born in the _United States, California_ specifically. I lived there in a house with my Mother in the ' _bu—_ Sorry, slip of the tongue. In _Malibu_ , until I was thirteen before moving here to live with my Father."

"What did you think of Ikebukuro when you first came here?" Mikado blurted to her without thinking. When he realized how forward he was acting, he felt his face warm. Masaomi was no help as he started snickering at friend's expense. Thankfully, it seemed that Katsuko-san was unbothered by his questions.

"Well, to be entirely honest Ryūgamine-san..." Katsuko paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face as she brought a finger to her lips. "I _hated_ it."

Masaomi choked on his laugh and both boys were left stunned by her bluntness. But Katsuko-san didn't seem to notice as she smiled fondly, her eyes growing distant. It looked as if her mind was drifting back to some faraway and precious memory. "At the time I wanted nothing more than to go back to Malibu and forget that I ever lived here... and then I met my best friend and he made the whole thing a bit more bearable. He introduced me to all the best things about this strange city and made it a bit more like home." She looked back at Mikado and he was taken back by the amount of raw emotion that was shown so clearly in them. "You're very lucky to already have a friend like that, Ryūgamine-san."

Before anyone could respond to that there was a buzzing sound and Katsuko-san reached into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out neon green phone. Flipping it open she read the screen and frowned, rolling her eyes at the message. She grumbled something under her breath and Mikado realized that she'd spoke in English, her eyes raised to them again and she smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but I have to make a call. It was good seeing you again Kida-kun, and meeting you Ryūgamine-san."

"You too, Kastuko-san!" Mikado said hurriedly. Masaomi also said a goodbye with far more flirtatious words, causing Mikado to have the urge to melt into the sidewalk, and then they resumed the path they were taking before being waved down. But not after they took a few step away Katsuko-san's voice carried out to them again.

"Kida-kun!" she called. Masaomi turned around with a curious look. His eyes widened when he saw the worried frown on her face. "...be sure to drop by the café sometime soon, 'kay?"

His flashed a bright grin as he did an exaggerated bow to her. "Your wish is my command, my lady!"

She returned the smile and looked towards Mikado as she raised her phone to her ear. "You as well Ryūgamine-san! I'll be expecting you both! Oh, and welcome to Ikebukuro!" she shouted to him with a wave.

"A-Ah! Yeah..." he stammered. And with one final wave from both parties, the pair turned and melted into the greyed faces of the crowd. As they moved farther away, Mikado could faintly overhear a fragment of her conversation.

"—ire, what do you mean by ' _she set it on fire_ '?! I swear, if you two have burned down the apartment by the time I get home tonight, I will seize _all_ of your Hanejima memorabilia! Yeah, I'm still out—No, he hasn't shown up yet— _don't try and change the subject_! Agh, just... just put your sister on the phone."

As he walked alongside Masaomi only half listening to his friend's teasing about his failed introduction and sudden interest in the personal history of strangers, he thought back to the woman they just left. She was unlike most women he'd met, not that he's met a lot of women to compare her to, it was just a feeling she gave off. From her mismatched hair and oddly bright eyes to the strange phone call he heard. It made him wonder what kind of person that friend she spoke of was that could inspire such warmth in her clear eyes?

* * *

 **Chapter Three: "Connections"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: So? What do you think of this so far? If you find anyone OOC, PLEASE let me know. I would hate to be doing this horribly wrong. Thank you Pr1nc3ss K3nny** **and Guest again,** **for reviewing** **the second** **chapter!**

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	5. Chapter Four, Lonely

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **A/N: And now we're back in the past! It's not going to all be in the same long, chapter from now on. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters! They wouldn't know what to do with me.**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language. Scenes of bullying and the destruction of private property. Don't do this at home kids.**

* * *

 **Chapter Four: "Lonely"**

 _"Great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, impossible to forget."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 1999**_

 _ **(11 Years Ago)**_

* * *

All he wanted was to be left alone.

Just to spend a little quiet time in the sun and maybe take a nap. That's all he wanted, was that really such a difficult request?

It _was_ , apparently.

Lunch was the only time during school hours he had to himself where he could lay in the sun and pretend that he couldn't rip vending machines out from sidewalks, that he can't send a grown man flying into a building with a single punch. If the idiot's picking fights with him every other day wasn't bad enough, some random girl with braided hair had started coming up to the roof every day to eat her lunch even though she was very aware that he was there. Was there something wrong with her head? It was a real possibility considering she spoke like a toddler.

She willingly chose to come up there everyday and stuff her face with food even though she knew that he was up here. And that's another thing. Why did she always eat so much damn food? Was she trying to make herself sick? It couldn't have been healthy.

Now, he could tolerate her presence every day because she hadn't bothered speaking to him since that first day when he'd told her to shut up, and he was fine with that. She wasn't too noisy and didn't bother him except to prod him awake when lunch was over and classes were about to begin. It was fine and tolerable until a bunch of other girls decided to follow her up today. He'd briefly thought about throwing them all off the roof but quickly discarded that thought, they were just noisy girls, it'd be easier to just ignore them until they went away.

So he ignored them.

...or at least, he tried to.

"What is... problem?" the braids girl said with her broken speech.

"So this is where you hide everyday to stuff your face? Where no one else can see you pig out on your lunch all by yourself?" one said with a nasally voice.

"...lunch?" braids girl repeated, sounding confused before gasping. "Oh! Would you like to have lunch with me?"

 _'Yep, there's something wrong with her head.'_ he thought sardonically.

A third girl began to screech, causing him to scowl. "We have to mop the floors for the next two weeks because to ratted us out! Do you even understand what you did? Or are you just too stupid?"

He felt his eyebrow twitch.

They were getting loud.

"No, no! No stupid!"

"Ha! She really is an idiot! She can't even speak!"

Noisy.

"Stupid girl, you probably think that you're so much better than us, huh?

"Ah... n-no?"

Irritating.

"You prissy little bitch!"

Loud.

"Uh-um, stop?"

"Stop? We haven't even started yet, little piggy."

"I wonder what you'd look like without these dumb braids? I think she could use a hair-cut. What do you girls think?"

They all laughed, it was high-pitched and grated on every one of his nerves.

 _Rude_...

"I... uh, don't? Um—"

"—We'll put you in your rightful place, you rat."

 _Annoying **Annoying** Annoying—_

"SHUT _UUUUUUUP_!" he roared as he got to his feet, vision going red, hands reaching out for the nearest grabbable object and tearing it out to raise above his head. A section of the roof's fence came up easily with his strength, the sound of tearing metal drawing their attention to him. His body stalked forward without thinking closer towards the group of _**noisy**_ _nagging_ _ **annoying**_ voices.

Four heads turned towards him all at once and he heard them begin screaming, shouting names at him like _animal **beast** monster—_

"YOU LIKE BULLYING PEOPLE?! _HAAAAH_?!" he snarled and the _**irritating**_ _loud_ _ **rude**_ girls who very quickly ran screaming towards the door.

His chest was heaving with huge breaths as adrenaline coursed throughout his body and he feel oddly dissatisfied with the result. He was now angry with nothing and no one to punch. Belatedly, he realized he still held the section of fence over his head.

With a shout he threw the fence forwards and it scraped across the roof, leaving marks and scuffs on the stone as crashed into the other side of the roof. As he stood there glaring at sight of the wrecked fence hanging precariously off the edge of the building, panting and trying to get his heartbeat under his control he failed to notice one of the noisy girls hadn't run off. Instead she just stood there gaping at the boy with wide and shiny blue-green eyes.

" _WOAH_!" she exclaimed. His head snapped around at the shout, finally noticing that braids girl was still there.

The girl with red hair quickly moved towards him, babbling words he didn't understand-English, he thinks now as he listens to her go on and on. She was speaking in English. She went on and on excitedly and she was waving her hands. gesturing to him and the fence. He scowled at her when he began to mock him by growling and pretending to lift something. He was about to yell at her to shut up but he paused in surprise when he recognized one of the words she was spouting.

"—a _Superhero_!" she said with wide eyes and a grin.

" _Superhero_?" he repeated. What on earth was this strange girl talking about? And what did guys in tights have anything to do with it?

" _Yeah, yeah, like in the movies! This is so awesome! I get to meet a real-life superhero AND he even goes to my school!_ " she babbled on, completely oblivious to the very confused expression on the boy's face. Also oblivious to the fact he couldn't understand anything she was saying.

A hand soon came up and the girl smacked the center of her forehead, and he blinked in surprise.

" _Stupid, Kat! You haven't even introduced yourself yet and here you are going on and on like some lunatic!_ " The boy watched in bewilderment as she spun on her heel and thrust her hand forward, grinning widely at him. "Katsuko _Elizabeth_ Sharaku— _Uh, right. It's backwards—_ I'm... Sharaku Katsuko... nice to meet you." she mumbled shyly.

He stared at her hand for a moment before taking it with his own, bowing slightly in greeting. Katsuko blinked before remembering the lessons on etiquette her Aunt had drilled into her, mirroring the boy's bow.

"Heiwajima Shizuo." he said stiffly, still confused as to what was happening. She'd seen him tear apart school property with the same hand she was holding, right?

Her eyebrows pinched together and her lips pursed.

"Shee. Zoh." she tried.

He found himself frowning again.

"Shi-zu-o." he repeated, dropping her hand.

"Shiz-oh!" she tried again excitedly, sure that she'd gotten it right that time. He narrowed hazel eyes at the red-haired girl and she shrunk down slightly, now less sure that she'd gotten it right.

"My name is Heiwajima _Shizuo_." he grit out from behind clenched teeth. This was getting annoying. He didn't like annoying things.

"...Shizu?" she asked meekly.

His eyebrow twitched. He wanted to punch her. He was trying to resist the urge to punch her. She was a girl. His mother would be ashamed of him if he punched a girl. When he didn't correct her again she brightened up considerably, even smiling again.

"Nice to meet you, Shizu!"

He really wanted to punch her. His fingers were itching to do it, but he reminded himself that she was just a girl. A girl that cries. He has no idea what he'll do if she started crying. Mother would be ashamed. He continued to remind himself of these things as he tried to cool his blood that had begun to boil.

She was waving her hands in front of his face to get his attention. "Shizuuu~" she chirped, obnoxiously cheerful.

Something snapped distantly and he apologized to his mother in his mind.

The still rational part of his mind, his conscience, didn't want to hurt the annoying girl. But when has his body ever listened what he wanted? His lips pulled into a snarl as his fist reared back and her blue-green eyes widened comically at the sight, he might've thought that she looked a bit funny if he didn't feel like tearing something apart at the moment. He threw the punch but it never connected.

Instead he watched as her hands fluidly lifted up and glided along his arm until she grabbed ahold of his wrist with one hand and pushed on the underside of his arm with the other. Before he knew it, he was bent over at the waist and she was standing behind him. The joints in his arm were locked behind his back and his wrist bent at an uncomfortable angle.

"...the hell?" he mumbled in a daze as he stared at the ground. His previous anger being drained and replaced with utter bewilderment.

She stopped his punch.

No one had _ever_ stopped one of his punches before.

She _'eep'd_ ' before quickly letting go of her hold on his wrist and stepping back in front of him, waving her hands in a panic. "Ah-ah! S-Sorry! Ahh-uhm... sorry." she mumbled. Trying and failing to find the right words for an apology, pulling nervously on the sleeve of her jacket.

"What was _that_." Shizuo demanded. How could this annoying girl do that? No one has ever stopped one of his punches before.

"Aikido." she mumbled, swallowing nervously.

Shizuo blinked in surprise. Then he looked at Katsuko properly for the first time, like he hadn't really seen her before this. Her uniform jacket didn't look like it was in her size because of how her sleeves went to the tips of her fingers and her skirt almost reached her ankles. She didn't look like she knew any martial arts. He must have looked disbelieving as she explained. Or tried to.

"Uhm, Rakuei gym? Fighting." she did some lame chopping motion with her hands and Shizuo idly thought that she was terrible at charades. "My family... ahh... Owns it! My family owns it." she pointed to herself, grinning again. "Sharaku of Rakuei."

"Never heard of it." he grunted as he turned around. The noisy girls were gone now and it wouldn't be much longer until lunch was over and he had to go to class again. Shizuo told himself that his decision to ignore the braids girl (Kukiko. Kazuko? He was never good at remembering names) had nothing to do with the fact she was still smiling at him with shiny eyes and that it was starting to unsettle him.

"W-WAIT!" she shouted. He cringed at her volume, he hadn't even been a few steps away before she practically screamed in his ears.

He turned back to the braids girl to glare at her, the corners of his lips unconsciously pulling into a scowl. Katsuko's ears tinted pink with embarrassment as she took a huge breath. Then she remembered herself and dashed to the side and quickly came back to stand in front of the wild-haired boy.

Shoving down any nervousness she raised the cloth-wrapped boxes in front of her. "Would you like to have lunch with me?!"

Shizuo just stared at the large bento and the strange girl, beyond confused as to what just happened. He tried to smash her face in just a couple minutes ago and now she was asking him to have lunch with her? He was convinced of it now. There was definitely something wrong with her head.

"Fine." he grunted.

If anyone ever asked, he would say that he only agreed to eat lunch with her so she wouldn't continue to make herself sick and he got a bit of an appetite from ripping the fence apart. Not because she looked at him without fear and was still smiling stupidly at him.

Definitely not because of that.

* * *

" _I'm b_ _aaa_ _ack_!" Katsuko shouted in English as she walked through the large wooden doorway. She sat down on the step and pulled off her shoes before grabbing inside slippers. Just like she was taught.

" _Taidama_ , Katsuko-chan!" a woman's voice sternly corrected from further inside the large house. The girl distractedly repeated the phrase in Japanese, she was still much too excited about the day's events to think properly.

"Welcome home!" greeted a smaller voice Katsuko instantly recognized as her younger cousin. Katsuko moved into the main room and saw her Aunt Miyo and cousin Mikage sitting at a low table. Mikage was working on what looked like homework and Miyo was sewing something that the girl was sure was going to be beautiful. Katsuko was quick to plant a kiss on her Aunt's temple and tackle little Mikage in a smothering hug.

" _Aiiieee_!" she squealed as she tried to fight off the unwanted affections of her strange cousin. "Off! Katsu-neesan! OFF!"

"Never!" Katsuko cried as she ruffled the younger girl's wavy auburn hair. Mikage retaliated by pulling on her already sore braids. One of those bullies had gotten ahold of it before Shizu had put the fear of God in them. " _Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow! Aunt Miyo! How do you say 'I give' in Japanese_!?" she cried, tears pricking at her eyes. Mikage was strong for a short-stack.

The woman in question merely chuckled softly before calling off her daughter. Brown eyes filled with mirth turned back to her young niece as she spoke in English. " _What has you so excited, Katsuko-chan. Did something good happen at school today_?"

The following grin that split her niece's rosy face was all the answer needed. " _I made a FRIEND today_!" she cried joyfully, grinning so wide her Aunt mused that her niece's face might freeze that way. A small, demure smile graced Miyo's features.

" _Tell me about it_." the woman raised one deft finger before Katsuko could begin her excited ramblings. " _In Japanese_." she added sternly, causing her niece to deflate greatly to her mild amusement.

So, in her broken Japanese, Katsuko proceeded to repeat the day's events with only a few corrections from her Aunt. In the middle of her re-telling, little Mikage had piped up, asking why her cousin hadn't just kicked the other girl's butts when she was cornered? Katsuko had acknowledged that she could have started a fight but amended by saying it wouldn't of been nice, that her Mama had taught her to ' _turn the other cheek_ '. Mikage had then called her stupid and Katsuko retaliated by pinching her little cousin's cheeks and stretching them as far as they could go. It quickly evolved into a spontaneous brawl. Things only when downhill from there when Mikage's older brothers Eijirou and Eiichirou came home from school.

Eiichirou being the eldest at eighteen was the tallest and the cleverest fighter out of all of them, always getting the upper hand and keeping it. Eijirou was the middle child of Katsuko's cousins but he was the bulkiest and was a hulking monster of meat and muscle at sixteen. Needless to say, the two girls of eleven and thirteen put whatever it was they were fighting about behind them in the interest of self-preservation as the boys moved forward, grinning a bit sadistically.

Miyo simply let out an inaudible sigh and moved her needlework to the kitchen as the couches and low table were pushed to the edges of the large living space, clearing the way for yet another impromptu sparring session. Katsuko didn't get to finish telling her story until later that night when she and all her cousins were helping her Aunt Miyo prepare dinner for the entire family. Being mindful of her brand new swelling lip, courtesy of Eijirou, (Katsuko thought it was only fair, she had kicked Eijirou in _that area_ pretty hard) she began from the beginning again. Completely ignoring stupid Eijirou when he asked her the same question his sister had asked earlier, igniting the whole fight. Now, due to a number of things like a swollen lip, a minor language barrier and Kastuko's general incompetence regarding her pronunciation of the Japanese language, it became known in the Sharaku household that Katsuko had gained a new friend that day.

A _girl_ by the name of _Shizu_.

Katsuko wasn't aware of this at age thirteen but she would eventually learn that the name ' _Shizu_ ' was typically given to girls. Not that she ever stopped calling Shizuo by that stupid nickname. Much to the man's endless annoyance. That day Katsuko hadn't smiled so much since before she came to live in Japan. Don't misunderstand, she was beginning to care for her excessively violent extended family but they were still just strangers that took her into their home out of a blood obligation they owed to her Father. For the first time since she came to Japan Katsuko hadn't felt totally alone. That day, she had made a bond on all her own merits.

That day, Katsuko became friends with a superhero.

* * *

 **Chapter Four: "Lonely"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you** **Seele Zeit, Momochan77, Branded Lunacy, Innieminnie, belovedmind, ClosetCase and Guest** **for reviewing!** **You guys are awesome!**

 **I w** **uv yew all! 'Till next time, luvs!**

- _Nanami_


	6. Chapter Five, Sushi Date

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **A/N: Confession? I had no idea just how complicated this story had become in my head. I'm having to watch Durarara just to keep up with all the small details, nuances and all that. Stories and characters are still being interwoven in my head as we speak. Still figuring it out so be merciful of you find any glaring inconsistencies? Ooh! And lemme know if you find any contradicting facts while reading this. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' but I do adore Shizuo, I really do.**

 **WARNING! RATED M! For... language and violence because if Shizuo is involved, it's a given.**

* * *

 **Chapter Five: "Sushi Date"**

 _"Friendship means understanding, not agreement._

 _It means forgiveness, not forgetting._

 _It means the memories last, even if contact is lost."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

Maintaining a relationship isn't easy. And not just the romantic types either, friendships are just as tough if not more difficult to keep up. Many things factor into it. How often you spend time with that person, what you do with them, how you treat them, how they treat you and a countless number of other things.

Now, Shizuo would admit that he doesn't have the most or the best experiences with romantic pursuits, but he liked to think that he was a pretty good friend to the few people he cared about. At least, he used to think that. Recently though, Shizuo finds himself wondering more often when exactly it became so hard keep up in what was going on in his oldest female friend's life? Nowadays it's rare to see her more than once a week in-between her job and taking care of her girls and all the hospital visits as he balanced every other damn thing that happened in his day-to-day. He remembers it being a lot easier when they were younger, back when all he had to worry about was what she had brought to lunch. Even after they graduated high school they always seemed to find time to just be around each other even if it was a bit harder.

He wonders what happened to change that?

"That was the last stop, we're done for the night." Tom said as he securely locked his briefcase. Shizuo nodded before heading down the crowded street. On their way back to the collections office Tom glanced at the blonde beside him before frowning and checking the time on his watch. "Hey, I can take this the rest of the way if you want...?" he offered.

Shizuo furrowed his brows before giving Tom a confused look, "It's not that far."

Tom frowned slightly before smirking at him with a knowing look. "Aren't you supposed to be meeting up with Katsuko-chan for your date?" he said lightly, teasing his blonde acquaintance.

Shizuo's response was as automatic as it was practiced, "It's not a—" he cut himself off as a thought suddenly occurred to him. _'What time is it?'_ he wondered. Pulling out his orange phone he flipped it open to read the small text on the screen.

The digital clock said 9:32.

He was supposed to meet Kat _three hours ago_.

There was something else on the screen.

(2 Missed Calls, 18 New Messages)

" _Shit_." he hissed under his breath. With a brief goodbye to Tom, Shizuo began to read the messages as he headed towards the café where Kat worked. Missing how Tom shook his head in exasperation at his retreating back.

(From Kat) 6:04 Hi, Kat here! Just wanted to let you know I just got off my shift. This isn't a reminder to not be late whatsoever! Hahaha...

(From Kat) 6:27 Okay. I lied. That message WAS a reminder not to be late. It has failed it's purpose entirely 'coz I've been standing out here for awhile now. Where are you?

(From Kat) 6:32 You know what I love most about waiting by myself on the sidewalk?

(From Kat) 6:33 Nothing. The answer is NOTHING Shizu!

(From Kat) 6:46 So it's been almost a full hour now.

(From Kat) 6:47 Out here on the street.

(From Kat) 6:47 Waiting.

(From Kat) 6:54 I've tried calling twice now. You've got your phone on F-ing silent don't you? You better look at your damn phone soon and CALL ME!

(From Kat) 7:18 I'm hungry. You're an hour late. I'm just going to head to Russia Sushi now. Whenever you read this just look for me there.

He adjusted his path only slightly and continued to read the apparently increasingly frustrated and passive aggressive messages from his friend.

(From Kat) 7:30 I'm going to start eating without you now. When you finally get here you're going to have to buy me something gooooood to make up for being so late on my ONLY NIGHT OFF FOR WEEKS!

(From Kat) 8:42 So I have no idea what I'm eating right now. I only know that it was sentient at one point before it reached my table.

(From Kat) 8:43 Or maybe it used to be mac'n'cheese?

(From Kat) 8:02 Shizu! You'll never guess who just walked into Russia Sushi! Excluding you, of course. You get three guesses!

(From Kadota) 8:03 Shizuo, it's Kyōhei. We ran into Katsuko at Russia Sushi and she's stuffing her face with food. She seems really pissed off for some reason. Did something big happen?

(From Kat) 8:05 Oh, no answer? A shame. Really Shizu. It's Kyōhei and the Van gang! They look like they're having fun. Y'know... just friends that spend time with each other. Sure sounds nice...

(From Kat) 8:11 My food is gone and I've just asked Denis to give a bottle of sake. I'm going to get trashed with Erika so don't be surprised to see me ruining Beyoncé for everyone when you get here.

(From Kat) 8:46 Three bottles down and Denis won't give me another one. Here is where I curse my Mother's Irish-Nordic ancestry. She gave me her lovely bone structure but it makes it the balls just to get decently buzzed.

(From Kat) 8:51 Damned Erika is convinced she's a fairy and Kyōhei had to carry her out on his shoulder after she tried to jump off the counter and fly. Kept mumbling about a broken plate oddly enough. I wish I could get that drunk.

(From Kat) 9:12 Well, I fully expect you to be bleeding profusely when you walk through that door. Maybe even limping a bit 'coz there better be a damn good reason to be three hours late, Heiwajima Shizuo.

"...damn it." he sighed. He was going to have to buy her cake or something. Maybe a couple of them. It was rare to piss Kat off-well, it was rare for _him_ to piss her off. So when he actually did manage it, it usually took a lot of bribery of sugar and hot chocolate until she stopped glaring quietly at him.

When Kat got angry she never yelled or threw punches, totally different than him. No, when Kat got angry she became quiet. She stopped her endless cheerful chattering and smiling and just pressed her lips into a firm line and _stared_. Shizuo honestly thought that being punched and yelled at was a hundred times better than that. Still, whenever it did happen it never failed to remind him how much he and Kat were complete opposites. It still baffles him to this day that their friendship ever survived past middle school. Her, always cheerful and open with her affections, always reaching out a hand with an invitation for friendship. And he was... less so. Still, Kat has been around for years now and has seen him at his very worst times and she hasn't ran away from him yet, even when he pushed her to her very limits during those dark times.

He's made her cry before.

He stopped in his stride. The throngs of people around his stationary form moved around him effortlessly, not stopping to hold any notice for the 6'1 blonde male standing motionless in the middle of the sidewalk.

He hated that day.

Shizuo decides then that he needs to get her two cakes (any flavor she wants) to make up for being late tonight. Resuming his path he turned down a side-street to make it so he's nearly a block away from his destination when he is stopped in his tracks yet again by a horrid smell lingering in the air.

"Something stinks." he growled.

Turning his head he spies a tall, thin body in a black coat. His vision suddenly goes red and his heart is pounding in his chest, a static roaring in his ears. Shizuo is consumed with blinding anger. Without conscious effort his hands wrap around something heavy and lifts it above his head, taking aim at the _flea_ _ **annoying**_ _bastard_ and throws.

A blue decorative elephant went soaring through the air.

The insect steps forward casually and the debris crashes and crumbles behind him. Izaya looks up and finally takes notice of Shizuo, saying something into the phone he's holding before closing it and throwing it behind him and Izaya is already running away. Shizuo's anger-fogged mind focuses on one thing and one thing only as he tears off after him.

He was going to _KILL_ that damn flea.

* * *

 **Chapter Five: "Sushi Date"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has reviewed and actually liked this story so far. You are wonderful and I'm glad that I could entertain you!**

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	7. Chapter Six, My Superhero

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language and Violence.**

* * *

 **Chapter Six: "My Superhero"**

 _"Friendship is born the moment one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'"_

* * *

 _ **Date: June, 1999**_

 _ **(11 Years Ago)**_

* * *

She wouldn't stop staring. It was beginning to annoy him but he tried to ignore it as he continued to eat lunch. Even after he finished the pudding she still wouldn't stop staring. Eventually he barked out a stern, " _What_?"

"It's so... so..." she tilted her head and squinted her eyes, "... _blonde_."

Shizuo rolled his eyes and she gingerly lifted a hand and reached up to touch his newly-dyed, yet still wild and untamed locks and he promptly swatted her hand away. Not even blinking at the rebuffal she ignored how her hand now stung and continued to stare unabashedly.

"Why you dye it?" Katsuko asked curiously.

Shizuo absently noticed that her Japanese has gotten better over the last two months, at least she understood what others were saying more even if she couldn't speak much herself. He suspects that it might have to do with her attempting to hold a conversation with him every day during their lunch hour. Remembering her question he finally answered. "Tom-senpai said it'd help ward off idiots from starting fights."

She frowned, "That work?"

"Has so far." he huffed, opening a sweetened can of coffee and downing it. If he was being honest, he still wasn't used to the color. He had liked his dark hair.

"Chichiue get angry if I do that." Katsuko murmured as her hand reached up to pull on one of her braids, "Hair and martial arts are the only common we have."

He shrugged easily, "Then don't. I only did it to get annoying idiots to stop bothering me."

"Hum... what if I want it pink?" she asked with a smile, leaning towards him and holding out her braid, "What you think? Think pink?"

For a moment Shizuo actually pictured the weird girl with pink hair tied into braids. He pictured it for a whole six seconds. Then he reached up and pulled on one of those braids, causing her to let out a surprised yelp as her hand went up to her scalp. "No. Don't do that, you're weird enough as it is." he told her.

She puffed up her cheeks and pouted petulantly. " _Mean_ , Shizu."

* * *

She wouldn't say it out loud (not that she probably could anyway) but Katsuko was excited to have a friend. Even if Shizu didn't talk much and pulled on her braids when she talked too much and more than often used his superpowers to tear apart public property or send delinquents flying through the air at implausible heights.

Even if Shizu was a _boy_.

Katsuko never had a guy-friend before back when she lived in California. Katsuko attended an all-girls primary school so the only boys she ever interacted with were the ones at the dojo. But she never became friends with any of them because they would all pick on her and call her mean names after she put them down during the spars and tourneys. She didn't know why. She thought that she was always really friendly! The final bell rang and Katsuko gathered up her books and pencils, stuffing them into her bag and heading out. She waited by the front gate until a six-foot tall teenager dressed in a faded blue Raijin uniform walked up to her and planted a large hand on her head, ruffling her already messy hair.

" _Eiichirouuuuu_ …!" Katsuko whined. Her eldest cousin merely chuckled at the pout she aimed up at him.

"Let's go, squirt." he said, already walking off. Katsuko hurried to keep up with his long strides. Her head swiveled around in search of her other male cousin.

"Eijiro?" she asked, wondering after her other male cousin. The older male just shook his head with a sigh.

"Don't know. He'd already left class when I got out of the student council meeting." Eiichirou shook his head again, having a fairly good idea where his troublesome little brother was. He'd been coming home with more and more bruises lately and Eiichirou was afraid his thick-headed brother has gotten himself in with a bad crowd. He suspected it had something to do with that Akabayashi guy his brother has been spending his time with.

"Student council." Katsuko repeated, unfamiliar with the words. She took to skipping instead of fast-walking and Eiichirou was hit with the urge to mess up with her hair again. He quietly bemoaned the fact that Mikage has never acted so girly. He loved his little sister but he wished that she could act a little cuter and... well, bite less. That was a generally good thing, their Mother agrees with him. Speaking of his little sister, they were coming up on her elementary school now. Katsuko ran off as soon as she saw familiar auburn locks saying goodbye to her little friends.

Then the American hug-tackled her unsuspecting cousin.

"Damn it, Katsu-neesan! Stop doing that!" Mikage snapped, reaching up and trying to get a solid hold on the older girl's clothing. Just as the girl got a fistful of a teal blazer Katsuko slipped out of her jacket and escaped her cousin's wrath, running for protection behind Eiichirou, giggling all the while. Said teen sighed as Mikage stalked forward with red cheeks and fiery brown eyes. She really hated when her family embarrassed her, usually it was just Eijiro acting like an idiot but more recently Katsuko has taken to showing more public displays of affection than Mikage was comfortable with. It didn't help that Katsuko treated it like a game of tag when she started getting chased down.

"C'mon girls, we have to be back at the Gym before the class starts. For training." he reminded them, hoping against hope that they'd listen.

They needed to be back at the Gym to prepare for classes, to help instruct other students and better their own fighting skills. If there was one thing Eiichirou knew by heart, it was that the Sharaku men expect no less than absolute excellence from their offspring. He knew that it was harder on his little cousin because she was an only child, unlike himself. The pressure was heavier on her to succeed. He could sympathize, knowing what is expected of the firstborn. It didn't help that his Uncle Eiichi was... stricter than most.

When the girls continued to use him as a barrier, running around his legs and dancing out of reach of each other's grasp he cleared his throat and decided to pull out the big guns. "If we don't make it home soon then _Mom_ is going to wonder why we were late." he drawled.

Both girls froze, one knowing fully well the extent of terror her small-bodied Mother was capable of instilling in someone without even lifting a hand and the other stopped because she was slowly but surely learning to fear her polite and soft-spoken Aunt. A look was shared between a pair of teal and brown iris's.

Then it was a sudden race back to the Rakuei Gym.

* * *

 _ **Date: July, 1999**_

* * *

He stared at it with mixed emotions.

On one hand he wondered and wanted to ask what she did (or failed to do, like throw the guy) to get it, and on the other he felt like he wanted to punch the person who did this to her through a wall. As he was trying to decide what he wanted, Katsuko was grinning like it was the best thing to happen to her in ever. Shizuo had been mildly alarmed when the girl had come to school today with a foxlike grin and her left arm in a cast.

"How did that happen?" he decided on asking, picking up a pork gun from the overly-large bento. Why did she still bring these big lunches? She did know that he had his own, right?

Her smiled turned a bit sheepish, "Ah, a training accident. But it okay. Stupid Eijiro needed stitches!" she said cheerfully. He didn't want to ask what that meant. Instead he asked why she was smiling so much. That brought her grin back in full force. " _Because_! I don't have to train until it's better! No training means we can hang out after school!"

Shizuo halted in eating his pork bun, mouth hanging half open, as he scrutinized the strange girl beside him. Sure, he'll admit that over the last eight weeks he's grown used to her constant chattering during the one hour a day they actually saw each other. Even looked forward to having the company, but... they didn't have anything in common. _At all_. At least he was pretty sure. Now that he thinks about it... he might have not actually asked.

"What would we even do?" he wondered aloud.

Katsuko promptly pulled a flyer out from her pocket. She had been waiting for him to ask that very question. Shizuo gave the girl an unamused look before taking the flyer from her hand and reading it closer. Apparently Shin-Bungeiza, the cinema theater, was having a marathon of American movies, tickets were reasonably cheap. He looked up to see Katsuko had moved closer and almost had stars in her eyes.

"Let's go, Shizu! I don't know my way in town and never been there before! No one in my family will take me too! Please Shizu, please, please, pl-" his eyebrow ticked, "-se, please, please, plea-" he grabbed a braid and pulled. "- _Owieeeee_! Mean, Shizu! _Staaaaahp_!"

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance at the girl's badgering but thought to himself that going to see a movie wouldn't be too bad. It's not like he had other plans. He clicked his tongue and released his hold on her braid. "I'll go. Just stop asking." he growled in warning.

Katsuko literally jumped for joy.

 _'Weirdo.'_ he thought as he watched her start spinning, continuing to eat his pork bun in silence.

And _that_ is how Shizuo found himself walking through Ikebukuro Station to board the train to East Ikebukuro to see a movie at 5 p.m. They had went home to change out of their school uniforms and met up outside the station. He wore a simple shirt and jeans while she had showed up in a dress that looked like a rainbow threw up on it. He told her exactly that.

Her bottom lip pushed out and she frowned, raising her injured arm, "But... it matches my cast!" and it did. Especially after she took a pack of markers to it and drew rainbows and assorted small and fluffy animals. Shizuo simply shook his head and boarded the train. His patience was already thin and it didn't help that Katsuko was acting like a little kid the entire time, staring out the windows with wide eyes and pointing out whatever caught her attention. The trip there was mercifully short and the duo found the theater easily enough and Katsuko ended up choosing the movie.

They watched ' _The Titanic_ ' with Japanese subtitles.

The movie had been fairly uninteresting until the girl had taken off her clothes. Shizuo had then felt extremely awkward when Rose was posing nude for a portrait, and after he had began to het caught up in the story he felt he had to cover Katsuko's eyes when Jack and Rose had, uhm… made love in the car. The blonde had been quite uncomfortable during that but as soon as he swept up in the sinking of the ship the movie had ended and he felt oddly depressed by it.

He had inwardly hoped that they would end up together.

Katsuko sighed dreamily as they waited in line for snacks and drinks before Shizuo choose the next film, "I love the movies. They so awesome. Filled with heroes adventures and villains and it's just so COOL!" she cheered, spinning around to expel some of her energy. The blonde raised an amused brow at the girl, wondering if she'd end up tripping over her own feet.

"I noticed." he said pointedly. Sparing a glance towards the group of high schoolers who were getting kind of rowdy. He didn't give them another thought as he and Katsuko were called up to give their order.

The auburn-haired girl flushed slightly in embarrassment at his tone. She knew she was acting like a kid. But she just couldn't help it! It'd been months since the last time she went to a theater or saw a movie from home. "My Hahaue, she was a movie star in Hollywood. I love movies because her." she confessed, a softer smile on her lips at she looked up at the darkening sky.

"Hollywood?" he repeated after asking for a popcorn and soda. Absently noting the high schoolers moving closer. If Shizuo remembered correctly, Hollywood was where they made all the movies in America, right?

She nodded excitedly, walking up to pick out her soda before answering her friend. "Please, that one. Mm-hmm! My Chichiue and Hahaue met during work. He train her in Naginatajutsu for a movie and they fell in love. They married and then, me! I- _Ah_!"

It was at this moment that a group of six teenagers from the notorious Raijin Academy had become a bit too caught up in their friendly row and one shove that was a bit too hard, causing the youth to lose his balance and unceremoniously knock into a girl four years his junior.

Katsuko stumbled forward at the sudden impact and whimpered at the pain that shot through her arm, causing her to drop her soda on the ground. The youth was quick to retaliate against his cohort, ignorant of what happened behind him and continuing their squabble with no regard to the people around them. It was on instinct that Shizuo reached out and grabbed the oblivious high schooler's arm, stopping him from continuing their roughhousing and possibly trampling over anyone else. The youth jerked back with a surprised yelp as he was forcibly turned around.

"What the-" he shook off the younger teen's hold, lips turning down into a scowl. Shizuo scrunched up his nose at the scent of alcohol coming off the older teen. Had he been drinking? "What the hell's your problem, man?!"

"You need to pay more attention to your surroundings." Shizuo said very calmly, this caused Katsuko looked over at her friend in alarm. Since meeting the Hulk-like Shizuo, the girl has learned that when he used that tone it meant that buildings were going to be needing repairs. And _soon_. The blonde superhuman nodded his head towards Katsuko who's eyes widened at the attention, there were suddenly a half dozen pairs of eyes on her as she reached down for her fallen soda.

"You made her fall. You should apologize."

"Ohh?" the Raijin student's eyes traveled the girl's form, she tensed and unconsciously slid her foot into a defensive stance. She did not like that look in his eyes at all. The youth brushed past Shizuo with a lecherous smile aimed towards the girl, Katsuko shrunk in on herself with an alarmed look on her face as the older boy took a step forward. "Well hey there, cutie. Why're you hanging 'round a punk like him? If you want, I bet I can show you- "

And the next thing anyone knew, the teenager was sent flying down the street. He skid and rolled across the ground a couple times before smacking into a brick wall. Presumably unconscious. There was a stunned silence as everyone on the narrow street processed the impossible feat of strength that they just witnessed. Katsuko smiled even though she knew she really shouldn't of. That guy could be hurt! But... that didn't make her smile go away whatsoever or do anything to dampen the warm, fluffy feeling she had in her stomach.

No one has ever defended her before.

After a brief grace period, long enough for people to recover a majority of their senses, one of the other Raijin students present charged at Shizuo. He went flying ungracefully through the night sky as well. It's fair to mention that no one had said that they recovered their _good_ senses. As the fallen youth's friends rushed Shizuo one after another, Katsuko panicked as she lost sight of her blonde friend as he soon became mobbed. She then heard a deep and animalistic roar and the larger teens started flying in different directions as Shizuo punched them all away in succession. One of the guys grabbed a wooden sign from in front of one of the shops and tried to sneak up on Shizuo while he was busy and Katsuko reacted on instinct.

By throwing her soda at his head.

The resulting explosion of fizz and high fructose corn syrup not only set the attacker off-balance but also alerted Shizuo to the poor bastard's intentions. Blazing hazel eyes landed on the advertisement sign still in the youth's hands, "...were you trying to kill me with that?! If you were trying to kill me then you can't complain if I kill you? _RIIIIGHT_!?"

Sign-guy shat his baggy uniform pants.

* * *

Shizuo grimaced, holding into the pole and trying to remain completely still against the constant jostling of the train's movements. Also trying to politely ignore that Katsuko was so close to him he could feel her breaths fan across his face. Katsuko had her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth in a face of total concentration as she stared up at her fingers. The placement had to be perfect. The auburn-haired girl ran her fingers over and smoothed out the bunny patterned plaster across the boy's cheek and smiled in satisfaction. "There! All better!" she announced, wrapping her good hand around the same pole as Shizuo and pocketing the plaster wrapper. Only jerks litter, after all.

"Thanks." he mumbled when she was finally done. The fight hadn't been long at all but one of the idiots had a knife on him and grazed his cheek before Shizuo managed to break his arm.

There was a silence that followed that Shizuo found to be rather uncomfortable. He was no less surprised this time as he was last few times when Katsuko, instead of running away, had stayed after his fight to ask if he'd been hurt, which had led to her producing an unholy amount of plasters from her person. He'd only briefly wondered why she carried that many on her until she pulled out a terribly cutesy pattern with an all too cheerful grin on her face.

She really was weird.

Katsuko was the only one in school besides Tom-senpai that actually bothered to talk to Shizuo on a regular basis, and the only girl period. He was fairly certain that girls didn't usually like violence but Katsuko never seemed to bat an eye whenever some idiot pissed him off and started a fight, further convincing him of her weirdness. Still, even with all her weirdness Shizuo had to admit that he enjoyed her company, even today's misadventure had started off well until they were interrupted. Maybe that's why he found himself caring a little about what she thought of him. With a frown, Shizuo realized what she's seen of him so far wasn't ideal in the least. Nothing but a few, impersonal words during lunch and already over a dozen brawls where he ends up seething, panting mess, surrounded by all the things he'd destroyed in his rage.

"I don't like violence." he blurted suddenly, sparing a glance at the girl standing beside him out of the corner of his eye. Katsuko took her eyes off the sight of the passing city and looked over at him with wide blue-green eyes, blinking once or twice before responding.

"You _don't_?"

He grimaced already half-expecting that reaction. He didn't know why he felt he had to mention it. Maybe he thought it could excuse his behavior tonight? In the end they didn't get to see another movie because the manager of the Theater had asked them to leave.

"...sorry about ruining your night." Shizuo mumbled quietly.

She looked over at the boy quickly, waving her hand dismissively. "No-no! It's okay! I had much fun!"

He frowned skeptically as he looked her in the eye. "You sure?"

She nodded cheerfully, "Mm-hm! Much sure!"

"But I got us kicked out." he said flatly.

She nodded airily, "Yeah, but that because you can't control your superpower yet."

His breath caught in his chest and he gave the girl an incredulous look. Did her hear that right or did she say it wrong?

"I can't control it. I've _tried_." he said, his frustration bleeding through his tone. He'd tried for years to control it and he's always ends up ruining everything. Every thing he touches gets destroyed, that's just a fact. One that he's learned to live with.

"All superheroes don't master their powers until after training. Everyone know this! Silly Shizu!" Katsuko said matter-of-factly, shaking her head at Shizuo's dumbstruck expression with a cheeky smile.

He looked at her weird wide smile a moment longer before he felt something very tight, unwind inside his chest. Then Katsuko leaned forward and raised her hand to her mouth, speaking in a hushed tone as if she was confessing some dark secret. Maybe she was.

"...I don't like fighting either."

They didn't say anything more after that until they stepped off the train, having reached the right terminal but before they went their separate ways, Shizuo ran a hand through his messy hair and reluctantly called out to the girl with braids.

"Hey, um... Katsuko-san?"

She turned around and her face scrunched up like she'd just bitten into something sour, "Ugh! No, _Kat_. Call me Kat, Shizu!"

Shizuo huffed in annoyance at the girly nickname she's bestowed on him. He wished she would stop calling him that. But... "Kat?"

"Yeah?" she was grinning at him again.

"I... had a fun time too."

* * *

 **Chapter Six: "** My Superhero **"**

 **END**

* * *

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	8. Chapter Seven, Birthday Party

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! For Language and Violence.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: "Birthday Party"**

 _"'Well, that escalated quickly' is our family motto."_

* * *

 _ **Date: August, 1999**_

 _ **(11 Years Ago)**_

* * *

It was Katsuko's fourteenth birthday and her family was throwing a party for her. It had been a great surprise for her. She honestly hadn't been expecting to celebrate it this year.

Shizuo had also been a bit surprised when he found out the smaller girl was a full year older than him. She explained that because she moved to Japan in the middle of the school year, her Father had thought it better she just repeat the year. The auburn-haired girl had been so excited to invite her friend after spending the entire summer locked away at the gym, training her Aikido and Judo skills day after day and helping instruct the girls' classes. Oh! And there was the tournament. She totally kicked butt then! So after copious amounts of begging and badgering on her part the blond-haired boy eventually relented and agreed, much to his chagrin and her joy! Her birthday was going to e all the better with her friend there, she was sure.

Today was finally the day and Katsuko was busy braiding her auburn hair into something resembling presentable when she heard her Aunt Miyo call out from the hall. "It's almost time for the party Katsuko-chan. Are you dressed?"

Katsuko was checking her dual braids in the mirror one last time before the guests began to arrive when her Aunt swiftly stepped into the small room that was given to her upon her arrival in the Sharaku household. It was still fairly bare of any personal touches except for the framed movie posters that hung upon the wooden walls and the mattress folded into the corner.

" _Just got done_!" Katsuko announced in her native tongue, spinning around to face the older woman. Katsuko was wearing her best dress, a soft white one with ribbons and bows layered across it, her Uncle Ford had gotten it for her birthday last year and she was excited she finally had an occasion to wear it!

The older woman swept into the room and immediately began tidying up her niece's appearance, smoothing out the dress and pinning down the stray locks of Katsuko's wild mess of hair while completely disregarding the girl's protests. Her movements were calculated and precise, done with a grace and discipline Katsuko could only dream of. It's easy to say that Katsuko was envious of her Aunt's grace and beauty, she was the epitome of grace and elegance whereas Katsuko was like the ugly and clumsy duckling. Long black hair that looked like slik, flawless white skin and almond-shaped chocolate brown eyes, her Aunt Miyo was beautiful in every word even though she was more polite and formal than she was warm or affectionate.

Really, the only thing that Katsuko shared with her Father's side of the family was the wavy red-brown, auburn hair that each blood member of the Sharaku family had. Other than her unmanageable hair and bull-headed personality, Katsuko was the spitting image of her Californian-born Mother in every way, in appearance and personality.

" _The guests will be arriving any minute and among them will be important figures that your Father and Uncle have invited, business partners and old acquaintances. As this will be your first formal appearance as a member of the Sharaku household you will need to look and act your absolute best, Katsuko-chan_." Miyo informed her niece tonelessly, she looked a bit tired, too. She looked more and more tired these days.

The girl's teal eyes lit up at the mention of her Father, she looked up at the woman and tried to hide the hopeful smile that wanted to spring up. " _Ah, Aunt Miyo-Father, is he...?_ "

Her Aunt's brown eyes took on a somber look as her expression remained placid. It felt like a rock dropped into Katsuko's stomach and she already knew what her Aunt was going to say.

He wasn't coming.

" _I am afraid you're Father won't make it in time for your birthday Katsuko-chan. He's very busy working in Europe right now. But he did send a gift._ " at the despondent look on the girl's face, Miyo reached out a hand and gently brushed her fingers against her brow, tucking auburn bangs to the side in a rare show of affection. " _Come out when you're ready_."

The woman breezed back out of the room, sliding the door shut behind her without a sound. When she was alone again Katsuko's head hung down, feeling her chest become suddenly tight. Before she knew it she was crouched with her arms around her knees and her head ducked down, curled into a ball. She kind of knew that he wouldn't be coming. It wasn't a surprise, he didn't usually make too much of an effort to be there around this time of year. But he had made it to California on her birthday a couple times before so she thought that maybe... maybe... this year would be different now that Mama wasn't here with her.

Her chest ached.

Katsuko wished she was on the beach.

She closed her eyes and she was back in the too-white room that smelt like sanitizer and faintly of Mama's plum blossom shampoo. Mama's hand was so much thinner than she remembers it being, it was like holding paper now. If she held on too tight she thought she might crumple.

 _'Keep smiling,'_ her Mama's words rang through her head, her voice was so soft, like a whisper. _'Even if the world feels like it's getting too heavy and all you want to do is cry... remember the power in a smile_ _, my beautiful baby girl._ _'_

Slowly, Katsuko got back to her feet again and took a deep breath. Two. And when she exhaled again, she smiled. Even though she wanted to cry, she smiled.

 _'Remember the power in a smile.'_

Checking her reflection in the mirror once more for signs of a red nose or puffy eyes and finding none, she smoothed out layers of her dress before turning towards the paper door. She slid it open easily and went out to welcome the guests.

* * *

The party itself was not like the other ones Katsuko previously attended or hosted back home in California. This one was... _formal_.

There wasn't any loud pop music blasting through the ambient air. No party hats or colorful strings of decorations around the traditional house. No gaggles of adolescent girls chattering about boys or wishing happy birthday. Instead there were a lot of people Katsuko didn't recognize, all dressed nicely with impeccable manners. Even her cousins! The violent, messy bunch they are were dressed so cleanly and didn't raise their voices once!

She had been properly flabbergasted.

With each guest's arrival, Katsuko stood alongside her Aunt and Uncle while they greeted them and Katsuko would escort the children, most of which she had met during practice at the Gym. After a number of guests had arrived, Katsuko was given the task of being a good hostess by going around to the other children (most of which had been herded into a hall that was far less formal with many forms of entertainment) and making sure that everyone was having a good time. This, Katsuko did enjoy. She did her best, she thought, but however not everyone was looking to have fun.

Katsuko had tried to approach another girl around her age in a conversation but was shot down quite spectacularly. She was pretty with long black hair and brown eyes, she looked like she didn't want to be here more than Katsuko did. Nari? Mamie? Something like that. Her uncle was supposed to be important though, she knew that.

"Hello, you are..." Katsuko paused and bit her lip, she didn't want to get her name wrong. The girl looked over at Katsuko with a passive expression and cut her off before she could speak any further.

"Not interested."

Then she turned and walked away. _'Well, then...'_ Katsuko thought, only a bit discouraged as she watched the dark-haired girl walk away. _'it's her choice.'_ And so Katsuko moved on to the next guest.

She wasn't one to force anything on anyone after all.

* * *

Elsewhere, on the way to the Sharaku residence, Shizuo was struck with the sudden and intense urge to pull on someone's braids.

He had no clue why.

* * *

A bubbly birthday girl bounced towards her eldest cousin who was engaged with speaking to a rather nice-looking teenager whom she had never met before. This, of course, warranted an investigation. Eiichirou never brought his friends around. The girl completely ignored her blood relation to jump to the introductions, also pretending not to hear his surprised, _'Oi! Squirt!'_. She flashed the stunned stranger a friendly smile (she'd been practicing it) and introduced herself.

"Hi! I'm Sharaku Katsuko! You are Eiichirou's friend?"

The teen, after bypassing his surprise, nodded with a boyish yet oddly nervous smile, "Uh, yeah. My name is Takahashi Akihito, and you are the birthday girl? Sorry I haven't introduced myself earlier."

Katsuko grinned wider and waived away his worries, it was fine to her. Eiichirou did not often bring his friends around so this was a treat. Takahashi Akihito was not very tall, she noted, but very pretty. He had nice dark brown eyes too. Everything about him seemed to say; friendly. She liked him right off and was about to start asking him a bunch of questions about what her cousin was like when he wasn't at home. Then a huge mitt of a hand landed on her head and she squawked.

" _Nooooo_! My hair!" she gasped in proper dramatic despair.

Eiichirou, the spiteful being that he is, ruffled it.

"It's rude to butt in like that, squirt." he said sternly. but the grin on his face undermined his chastising. She stuck her tongue at him, briefly considering siccing Aunt Miyo on him for messing up her carefully cultivated appearance but decided against it. For now, at least. If he kept up being insufferable then she just might change her mind.

"Kat-san!" a boyish voice carried over the sounds of upbeat J-pop to reach her ears.

Katsuko's first reaction was to turn at the sound of her name, stiffen in recognition of the dark-haired boy and then fight the down a blush as Hajime Shishizaki began to approach her from across the room, apparently forgoing the formal greeting with his parents if she hadn't been called back. Though Katsuko wouldn't consider she and the older boy to be friends like Shizuo was, she knew him well from their regular spars after school hours. Unlike all the other boys that attend the Gym, he gave her a real challenge when they fought, and the times when he did lose (which were already rare) he did so gracefully. As the only child of Sharaku Eiichi, there were certain expectations that Katsuko had to live up to, that includes being able to keep up and even outfight the boys in her age range. To find that someone that didn't hold any hard feelings after a spar was beyond refreshing for the girl. So it was understandable she was excited to see him.

The fact she might or might not find his smile cute was completely irrelevant to the equation.

"Ah, H-Hello Shishizaki-kun. Thank you for coming today." she stuttered, almost forgetting to add the suffix at the end of his name. Eiichirou snickered and she subtlety stepped on his stupid foot. He grunted quietly but made no other sound of pain. Shame. She had stepped quite hard too.

The boy smiled easily at her and that blush finally broke through, warming her cheeks. "Of course! I wouldn't have missed it. Happy Birthday Kat-san!" then his dark grey eyes darted away to the left before he shyly added, "...you look very nice, by the way."

She swears, she did not smile stupidly after that.

 _Nope_.

* * *

Two hours well into the party, Katsuko was going around and making introductions with the other children while her Aunt and Uncle entertained the adults she had spotted her middle cousin, Eijiro, making an annoyed face before her vision was obscured by a colorfully wrapped box that fit easily in the calloused palm that held it in front of her.

"I hear it's somebody's birthday today~" a voice said with a cheerfulness that contrasted with the roughness of the deep baritone. Katsuko grinned, recognizing the owner of the voice.

"Mizuki!" she cried cheerfully, tackling the older teen in a side hug. The teen that stood a few heads taller than her chuckled good naturedly in the face of Katsuko's overt display of affection.

Mizuki Akabayashi, a student of the Uncle Eiji and is one of the finest (if not somewhat aggressive) fighters of the Gym. With his auburn hair and ferocity in a fight, one could easily mistake him for being a blood relation of the Sharaku's if it wasn't for his contrasting personality. Mizuki was a wild child of sorts as Aunt Miyo would say, a reckless and brash personality that he backs up with raw talent and a smile that can diffuse most situations. Still, Katsuko liked him better than stupid Eijiro. He was always kind to her and he always liked to help out with teaching the smaller kids! He was a good guy in her opinion.

" _Onii-san_ , Kat-chan! Call me Mizuki-oniisan!" the older teen reprimanded her lightly, a sloppy and charming grin on his face. Katsuko's face scrunched up in concentration. She liked Mizuki, he was nice to her, and if he wanted her to use those silly end-name thingies then she would try! She bit her lip, slowly sounding out the syllables.

"Mizuki o- _nee_ -san!" she tried. Eijiro let out a barking laugh while Mizuki's grin fell away and he sighed morosely. Katsuko frowned in confusion. What? Did she not do it right again?

"Oi! Katsu-neesan! You're boyfriend's here!" Katsuko startled at the sound of Mikage's voice calling out to her, then more so as she processed just what her young cousin said. Eijiro had choked on his laughter and even Mizuki's interest was piqued.

" _WHAT_!?" the auburn-haired girl screeched in a very unladylike way, spinning on her heel to see her cousin leading a certain blonde alongside-Katsuko blinked in surprise as she recognized the boy with glasses. "Tom?"

Tanaka Tom waved with a friendly, if not awkward, smile. "Hello, Sharaku-san. Uh, Happy Birthday."

When Shizuo had asked him if he wanted to hang out, he would readily admit that he had not been expecting to show up at such a traditional-looking house to attend a birthday party for a girl he hardly knew. Honestly, Tom didn't know what to make of the American girl. At first, he'd thought that Shizuo had been exaggerating when he said that she was the weirdest person he'd ever met, but then Tom had actually met the girl during lunch. She was...

Odd, for sure. Definitely cheerful. Tom really couldn't understand how she could watch Shizuo tear a street sign out of the sidewalk without even blinking an eye, even he wasn't entirely used to seeing such an impossibly feat preformed so effortlessly. Odd. That was a good word to describe the girl with braids. But, he's yet to find any fault with her personality besides her being a bit quirky and enthusiastic. She was nice enough, he thought, and... he was glad to see Shizuo had another friend besides himself.

Shizuo explained the other boy's presence when curious teal eyes landed on him, with a shrug, "I thought that you wouldn't mind if I invited Tom-senpai to come with me." he paused, uncertain now that they were actually here. "You _don't_ mind... do you?"

Katsuko's resulting grin was blinding. "Of course not, Shizu! The more the better!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. She was always happy to have more friends at school, she thought that Tom was nice too. He never seemed to be bothered by her poor speech. But before she could begin to show her schoolmates around like a proper hostess, Eijiro had stepped forward with a confused frown.

"' _Shizu_ '?" he echoed questioningly, peering at the blonde teenager with narrowed eyes.

Shizuo grimaced, freshly annoyed with the girl with braids next to him. Katsuko was completely oblivious to this, of course. She nodded cheerfully before she began carefully making introductions for everyone present, "Yup! Eijiro-baka, Mimi, Mizuki-oneesan-" there was a snort of laughter and a soft, wistful sigh from Mizuki. Eijiro was used to being called an idiot by everyone else and Mikage was completely apathetic to her nickname so long as no one she knew heard it, "-this is Heiwajima _Shi-zu-o_ and Tanaka Tom! Shizu, Tom, these two are my cousins, Mikage and Eijiro and this guy attends the Gym, Akabayashi Mizuki!"

Kasuko mentally high-fived herself after she realized she had gotten everyone's names right! Nods were exchanged on both sides as they acknowledged the introductions, except for Eijiro who took another imposing step towards Shizuo, jabbing a rudely pointed finger at the younger boy. "This is the ' _Shizu_ ' you keep yapping about? The one that can send guys flying through the air with a single punch?" he asked skeptically.

Katsuko began to get a bad feeling all of a sudden. Hesitantly, she nodded. Eijiro smirked cockily and Katsuko knew that this wasn't going to end well. Stupid Eijiro.

"Then how about a friendly spar? It's only right that I get the measure of the guy that's been spending so much time with my precious little cousin." the idiot challenged. Shizuo had stared dully at the older teen. Katsuko's eyes widened and Tom had just face-palmed with a small groan.

Shizuo shrugged. "Fine."

 _'Oh no.'_ Katsuko thought with growing dread, _'Stupid, stupid Eijiro doesn't stand a chance AND Aunt Miyo is going to kill us all when she finds out!'_

They walked outside of the hall and onto the backyard platform where some of the early classes were held in the mornings. Katsuko noticed how they drew a few of the other children out with them and wanted very much to be able to smush Eijiro's face into the floorboards herself for making such a scene! She now wished that Eiichirou had stayed for the rest of the party instead of leaving with his friend just so he could smush Eijiro's face. They faced each other across the polished flooring and unconsciously, Katsuko clasped her hands together and held them against her chest in a fit of anxiousness.

Mizuki, who had been standing beside her up 'till now, chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Kat-chan. Eijiro may seem like he's got rocks for brains, but he knows how to hold back. he won't hurt your little friend."

 _'Much.'_ he added silently.

Katsuko's frown deepened and she mumbled under her breath. "...it's not _Shizu_ I'm worried about."

Mizuki spared her a curious glance out of the corner of his eye but kept his attention on the two boys as Eijiro got into an aggressive fighting stance. He wanted to laugh at the sight as he recognized that his friend wanted to show off now that he had an audience. The boy, Shizuo, just stood there looking casual if not a bit awkward being the center of attention. Little Mikage stood off to the side and uttered the word everyone had been waiting to hear.

"Begin!"

Eijiro dashed forward with a shout and just as he was about to engage, Shizuo slid his foot back. rearing his right arm and-Eijiro flew ungracefully through the air and landed harshly against the stone wall of the building with a loud thud! His unconscious form slid down the wall, revealing the large cracking in the stone where he landed. Everyone stared at the new Eijirou-shaped indentation in the wall. Shizuo was panting only semi-heavily and the yard was stunned into silence as was typical of those that witness the supernatural phenomenon that is Heiwajima Shizuo. Katsuko was the only one who clapped Shizuo's victory, much to the boy's embarrassment.

"Eh, Katsu-neesan…" Mikage mumbled, coming to stand next to her cousin.

"Yeah, Mimi?" the girl with braids hummed distractedly as she tried to figure out how she was going to explain this to her Aunt and Uncle.

"Your boyfriend is weird."

Katsuko's face lit up red and she immediately corrected that horrible misunderstanding with her younger cousin. Mikage then continued to mercilessly tease her about her ' _boyfriend_ '. Although things ended up with structural damage and a long scolding from Aunt Miyo, it was okay because a bunch of the guests that saw what happened automatically assumed that Shizuo was a student of the Gym and as a result the Gym got a lot of new enrollments after the party ended. Besides that little hiccup with the fight, the rest of the party went fantastically now that her friend had been there too to spend it with her.

Katsuko thought without a doubt, that that was the best birthday ever.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: "** Birthday Party **"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **Alright, almost caught up!**

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time!**

- _Nanami_


	9. Chapter Eight, Changing Seasons

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! For... not much this time. We're pretty fluffy though.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: "Changing Seasons"**

 _"You're one of those people that make my life better just by being in it."_

* * *

 _ **Date: October, 1999**_

 _ **(11 Years Ago)**_

* * *

Kasuka stared at the braids girl that wouldn't stop grinning at him on the front doorstep of his house. It was bordering on creepy now. He was still wondering why she was here. Nii-san had mentioned earlier that day that he was going to go hang out with a friend but he neglected to mention his friend was so... smiley.

"Cuuuute!" she squealed, squirming where she was standing and ruffling the overly colorful dress she was wearing. Shizuo had run up to his room because he'd forgotten something and while she'd been waiting on the porch the cutest little boy had walked up! He looked just like Shizuo but smaller! "You are Kasuto-kun, right? Shizu's little brother?" she asked. Taking the boy's stoic silence as confirmation, Katsuko grinned wider. "I'm Kat! It's nice to finally meet you! Shizu has mentioned you before!"

It took him a moment of concentration but Kasuka had figured it out. He remembered his Nii-san had been grumbling about some girl with braids that kept getting his name wrong a couple months ago, but he didn't think that he'd become friends with her. It was odd. Before an hour ago, Kasuka didn't think his Nii-san even had any friends. His voice was soft and oddly bland as he spoke to her, "...I should apologize now for any trouble that my Nii-san might cause you."

The girl with braids blinked owlishly at him, "Apologize?" Katsuko repeated, tilting her head at him "What for?"

Kasuka stared blankly at the braids girl. Was she dense? She had to know of his brother's tendency to throw things that far outweighed any of them, right? The boy just shook his small head at her, "Never mind. Just... please take care of him." he asked sincerely, bowing his head. When Kasuka looked back up the braids girl had stars in her eyes as she looked at him.

"Ahh," she sighed quietly. Her smile grew softer as she looked down at the boy. "...Shizu is really lucky to have a brother that cares so much."

"Alright, I got it!" Shizuo announced as he hurriedly stepped down the stairs to blink at the sight of his brother standing at the door with his weird friend, "Kasuka? Something you need?"

Katsuko face-palmed, drawing odd looks from the Heiwajima boys. She had done it again! Kasuka turned to his older brother and shook his head, "No. Just curious."

The dyed-blonde nodded before grabbing a coat off the rack and slipping on his shoes, "You ready to go?" he asked the girl. She nodded excitedly and began bouncing in place. Shizuo stepped out the door and began to led the way but paused as Katsuko didn't follow right after, he glanced back to see her still facing the door.

"Ah... Kasuka-kun. About what you asked..." he stopped mid-closing the door to look back at the girl. She winked at him and gave a thumbs up, flashing him a wide grin. "You can count on me!" Kasuka stared at her a moment before nodding slightly and shutting the door. He could faintly hear his brother's voice from the other side of the door.

"What ' _thing_ '? What were you two talking about?"

"No-thing~"

"Really Kat, what did Kasuka ask you?"

She merely began humming. Then she yelped as the boy yanked on her braid in annoyance.

"Mean, Shizu!"

"Pft. Don't be annoying."

* * *

 _ **Date: December, 1999**_

* * *

The day was Christmas Eve and Shizuo had watched in confusion as Kat became more and more depressed with every day that drew nearer to the end of the year. If anything, he had expected that she would be insufferably cheerful during this time of year but that didn't seem to be the case. Instead she steadily became more and more withdrawn, smiling less every day. When she had mentioned that she had the day off from training, Shizuo had gotten the idea to try and cheer her up by offering to help her memorize her way around the city better but even exploring couldn't cheer her up like it usually did. Eventually Shizuo became annoyed with the gloomy look on her face and asked her what was wrong.

"This... is the first Christmas that I'll be spending away from home. Last year I spent it with my Uncle Ford in California, but..." she trailed off, reaching up a hand to run her thumb over the necklace she always wore around her neck.

"You're feeling homesick?" he guessed.

She nodded silently after a moment, eyes trained on the passing ground beneath her feet. Shizuo frowned thoughtfully. There wasn't much he could do to help with that. It's not like he knew that much about ' _California_ ' except that it was sunny, had beaches and a lot of movies were made there. He looked up at the grey sky above their heads, remembering the forecast said something about snow. He very well couldn't change the weather or take her to the beach so that left... He nodded to himself, figuring out what he was going to do next.

"C'mon," he murmured, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and walking forward with a purpose. Kat flailed a bit before running to catch up with him.

"W-Where are we going now?" she asked, bewildered by his sudden behavior.

"Shin-Bungeiza."

She frowned, confused. "Why?"

"Why not?" he retorted, keeping a brisk pace.

Her brows furrowed together, "But... we've seen all the movies playing."

"Actually..." he tried not to smirk, "they premiered a new movie just yesterday actually."

He denies feeling something warm spring up in his chest when her teal eyes finally lit up with excitement.

* * *

Going to the movie ended up being a horrible idea.

Shizuo had thought he was being cool by taking her to see the newest movie showing at Shin-Bungeiza but as usual, he managed to screw things up without meaning to. In Shizuo's defense, he thought the ' _Blair Witch Project_ ' was supposed to be about a school drama or something. Besides learning to actually find out what genre a movie was before blindly going tp see it, he also found out that Kat didn't take well to horror movies. More than once during the film he had been covered in popcorn with her hands digging into his arm as she tried to hide from the numerous jump scares.

"That... that was..." Kat shuddered, still clutching Shizuo's arm with a death grip as the exited the theater, and it wasn't because the temperature had dropped and it began snowing while they were inside. He frowned, upset with himself for making things worse for her. He was trying to cheer her up, not scare the crap out of her!

"Sorry." he said gruffly as he began to walk them down the sidewalk.

She glanced up at the boy and felt a smile grow. He was always apologizing when he didn't need to. Sure, now if anyone ever tells her that someplace is haunted she's going to avoid it like the plague and she might have peed herself a little during that one scene—but that wasn't the point! The point was that Shizu was trying to cheer her up when she's been so obviously depressed and that he was a really good friend and Katsuko felt really warm and happy that he was there with her! …Katsuko felt that she was lucky to have met the inhumanely strong boy. It was with this bubbly, happy feeling in her chest that she took advantage of Shizuo's obliviousness to their continued proximity and snuggled further against the thin arm in her hold, rubbing her cheek affectionately against his shoulder.

He stiffened immediately, almost faltering in his steps. She let slip a small giggle at the awkward expression on his face and he shot her an annoyed look, feeling his ears get warm. He huffed, his breath puffing out in a cloud, and turned his head forward again as they boarded the train.

"So any big plans for tomorrow?" he asked conversationally, trying very hard to ignore how she was still pressed against his arm. Didn't matter that it was cold and she was quite warm. People just didn't do this kind of thing. Her smile faltered and Shizuo was about to slam his head against a pole to try and fix the bad case stupidity he's come down with. She let her hold on his arm slip. Shizuo ignored how he noticed the extra warmth begin to seep away.

"Ah, n-no plans... my... my family isn't going to be celebrating Christmas." Kat confessed quietly as they gently rocked in time with the train rattling against the tracks. Her smile disappeared entirely as she lowered her head, eyes disappearing behind red bangs. She voice was so soft that Shizuo was barely able to hear it, "...I've always celebrated Christmas for as long as I could remember."

He frowned as she reached a hand up to trace her fingers against the sliver cross around her neck, eyes still hidden.

"Is Christmas really that big of a thing to you?" he asked. To Shizuo it was just another day, just one where some people went out and decorated or gave each other gifts. He knew that some people used the time to gather up extended family and reunite but his family was small, the only extended family he knew about was his grandparents.

Kat nodded, tightening her hold on the necklace. "My Mama was a _Catholic_ , this cross was hers, you see. She was a very faithful lady and would always take me with her to church whenever she could, even moving around her busy schedule. She'd make sure that she wasn't working abroad in December just so she could spend extra time with me." she paused, looking down at the necklace with a sad smile that turned into a grin. "Christmas was her favorite time of year. She'd—hehe, she'd go overboard with the decorations and lights every time! The Christmas party she held every year was always so... so _magical_."

There was a minute of a solemn silence as Kat's eyes looked out the fogged window to the quickly darkening city, a longing and pain rising in her chest sharper than it had been in a long time. And Shizuo, since he'd been doing so well tonight, had gotten another stupid idea in that short span of time.

"Well..." he mumbled with a shrug, "you can just come over to my house if you want. For Christmas, I mean. My family is gonna host a neighborhood party." her eyes snapped up to his and he looked away uncomfortably, stuffing his hands further into his pockets. "I mean, it'll be noisy and crowded but I don't think that anyone would mind if you dropped by."

She stared at him with wide, teal eyes and a slight gape. He shifted his on his feet anxiously, regretting opening his big mouth. He was an idiot. It was a stupid suggestion and he should've just let it be. Why would she want to spent such an important holiday to her at his house? Kat obviously was missing her Mother so she'd probably want to be with her Dad. He was an idiot. Why did he continue to just keep sticking his foot in his mou—

"Shizuo…" she whispered.

He froze, thoughts stuttering to a halt.

He doesn't think she's ever called him by his name before. Like, his actual name. He knew—he _knew_ then, that he'd screwed up worse than the other times. Shizuo glanced over at the girl warily and then panicked because she was suddenly crying! He began to panic ungracefully as he tried to figure out what set his friend off. "Ahh—It's fine if you don't want to come! I'm fine with it!" she shook her head, hand rubbing at her eyes while mumbling something. Shizuo scrambled, "W-What's wrong!? Was the movie? It was the movie, wasn't it? Damn it! I knew it was too scary." He facepalmed angrily, "I'm an _idiot_!"

Kat let out a watery laugh at his expense, she'd never seen his panicked face before, It was funny. "No, no... I-It's just..." she sniffled once more before barreling into his chest and wrapping her arms around his middle. His entire body tensed at the contact and he was at a complete loss as to what to do now.

After a full sixty seconds he lifted a hand and stiffly (but softly, don't hurt her. Like holding a glass) patted her back with great amounts of awkwardness. Some high school girls sitting on the bench across from them began making cooing noises and said that they looked ' _so cute_!' Shizuo felt as if his face had been lit on fire then and there.

"Shishu…?" She mumbled into his chest.

He made a sound in the back of his throat that resembled some form of acknowledgement as he futilely tried to remove the heat from his face. It was snowing outside so why did he feel so hot?!Kat squeezed him tighter before pulling away and looking up at him with a face squishing grin that had his stomach knotting in a weird way.

"...thank you for this." she whispered.

"Ah..." he said intelligently, swallowing around the lump in his throat. He wanted to punch himself. For some reason he suddenly couldn't think anymore. No one had ever thanked him for screwing up before. Five minutes ago he'd been sure that she would run off and never talk to him again. Why wasn't she?

"I'm so glad I met you, Shizuo."

Hazel eyes looked down at the auburn-haired girl uncomprehendingly. After a moment he shook his head softly and felt a small smile on his lips.

She really was weird.

…though he didn't say it at the time, he was glad to have met her too.

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: "** **Changing** **Seasons"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **One more and then we have the new one!**

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	10. Chapter Nine, Late

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: "Late"**

 _"Change is the only constant in Life."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

" _Shit_! That damn flea bastard got away again! The next time I see I'll kill him! I'll-" Shizuo ran at top speed all the way to Russia Sushi, spitting out curses about the damned flea bastard for distracting him again. He'd been this close to getting to the restaurant but instead he was even later! Turning the last corner, he ran past Simon and headed straight inside. His breathing was ragged as his eyes quickly scanned the mostly-empty restaurant seats and booths. An uncomfortable feeling settled in his gut when he found no sign of a certain waitress.

He couldn't see Kat anywhere.

"She left a while ago, kid." Denis informed him as he wiped down the counter. Shizuo cursed under his breath.

Walking home under the light polluted night sky, he let his mind wander back. Trying to figure out when it all started going wrong. It was night's like this that he wished he hadn't quit smoking. He remembers specifically that this used to be easier, just finding time and spending a couple hours talking about meaningless things with a girl he's known nearly half his life.

Wondering if maybe it was too late to try and call to explain himself, Shizuo pulled out his cell phone and noticed a new message on the screen.

(1 New Voicemail)

It was Kat's number. He quickly pressed play and heard her subdued voice on the other side.

"Message play."

"- _It's half-past ten here. I'm... I'm gonna call it a night Shizuo. I'll see you whenever_."

"Message end."

A pause. The phone snapped shut and Shizuo began walking down the street again. He halfway hoped that some idiot would try and start something tonight.

* * *

 _ **Date: September, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

* * *

"I got~ a _job_ ~" Kat sang as she plopped down beside her friend on his couch. Shizuo arched a brow at the girl who didn't even knock on her way in as she began humming a random song happily under her breath. He almost chose not to ask in favor of finishing his history homework. Almost.

Instead he dropped his textbook where it lied despondently on the coffee table and went into the kitchen to retrieve drinks. "Job doing what?" he asked from the other room, hands reaching for two small cartons of strawberry milk.

"Babysitting!" she announced, Shizuo came back in and handed her one of the cartons. She took it greedily and flashed him a grateful grin as he sat next to her with his own. "The nanny of one of the girls I help instruct at the Gym says that I'm great with her and offered me a job to come and watch the girl and her sister while she takes a ' _much needed_ ' day off. I didn't really understand, I think she and her sister are just the sweetest little things."

"And who would trust _you_ with a child? They can't stand you." Shizuo teased with a dry voice. She swatted his shoulder in response, sticking her tongue out at him. He didn't even flinch and she hadn't been holding back either.

"Mean! I'm very good with little kids I'll have you know!" she claimed. In response he nodded placidly, deciding not to remind her about the time she was assaulted with paper planes and spitballs by a Kasuka's class that one time they volunteered to help for the day. Didn't matter that she had been completely oblivious to the entire thing, she had enjoyed every minute with the snot-noses brats that she let them walk all over her like a cheerful doormat.

They weren't allowed to volunteer again after that.

Shizuo frowned suddenly as a thought occurred to him, "Do you have the time for that? Between the Gym and Exams you're going to be short on time as it is." he pointed out. They were going to be graduating Roka Junior High in a few months time and Shizuo questioned if it was wise to be getting a job when she should be focusing on studying.

In response she gave him a dry look, shifting around on the couch to make herself more comfortable. "I'll have you know that I already brought it up with Chichiue. As long as it doesn't interfere with my training, both physical and mental, he thinks it will be a good opportunity for me to learn some ' _responsibility_ '."

Kat began to frown as she sipped her milk, thoughts obviously falling back to her ever-demanding Father. Shizuo reached up and gently tugged on the long, single braid. Drawing her attention back to him as he offered her a half-smile, distracting her from where her thoughts were headed. "So who is going to be taking up all your time?" Shizuo asked instead, changing from the delicate subject her lone parent.

She gladly took the diversion and leaned back with an easy grin, "If you must know, it's two six-year-old twin girls. I think that they are absolute little angels, I mean, Mairu is a bit aggressive during her training but I think that's just because she's just a bit too enthusiastic about it. I met her sister once or twice when class was over and she is adorable, Shizu! You know, she once-" Shizuo listened idly as Kat excitedly described the girls, picking back up his textbook and resuming his studies, writing notes. "-so excited to be doing this! You know how I've always been jealous of you and Kasuka. Oh, oh, and their surname is Orihara by the way. But more about that thing Mairu tried to do to Eijiro-Ha! The look on his face! Oi, Shizu, are you still listening?"

Shizuo made a sound of acknowledgement, not taking his eyes of the page even as she plucked the book from his grasp and began criticizing his mistakes and pointing out the things he overlooked.

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: "Late"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **We're finally caught up! Now I can finally start writing the shorter chapters more often. It was just really too long the other way. Thank you to ClosetCase, Momochan77, Guest, Innieminnie, littletammi, belovedmind and deelel for reviewing! Really, guys. You're awesome for taking the time to write to me.**

 **Wuv yew all! 'Till next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	11. Chapter Ten, Another Round

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: "Another Round"**

 _"We cannot learn without pain."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

Some people say that there is a Red String of Fate that ties and binds two people together for the rest of their lives. That no matter what distance between them, no matter what events that might have transpired, these two fated people would always, _always_ find themselves with the other once more.

And Fate didn't give a damn about what the two people wanted.

A woman in a short black wig was walking briskly down the slowly emptying street of the city, it was nearly 11 o'clock at night and it was dangerous for anyone, no matter what age or gender to be walking about. Then, of course, not many were as well versed in self-defense as she was so she continued down the sidewalk without much care as she spoke heatedly under her breath about an unfortunate blonde man in a bartender's outfit.

"— _Stupid_ guy with his _stupid_ hair and his _stupid_ tinted glasses and his _stupid_ vest with that dumb smile he gets all the time! Well, he ain't smiling tonight, is he? _No_ , no he isn't, because he was too busy scaring the shit out of some poor bastard to be bothered to even _call and let me know he wasn't going to 'effing show up_!" she seethed, inside her heart was hurting not only because of Shizuo's absence but of her reaction to it, as well. She hated feeling like this, like it was somehow wrong of Shizu to have missed their pre-arranged hang out. Things happen. To Shizu more than most, the strangest occurences tend to just pop up and take away a good amount of his attention. She knew this fact intimately.

Yet, it still hurt.

"Oh, Kitty-Kaaaaat~" a voice sang out, carrying down the street and to her ears.

Katsuko inhaled sharply, smoothing out her expression and carefully did not react as she kept her pace even, neither speeding up nor slowing down. Soon, a furry jacket-wearing man with dark hair was skipping alongside her brisk strides, a wrapped package from Russia Sushi swinging in his idle hand.

"Hiya, Kitty-Kat!" Izaya greeted cheerfully. Katsuko didn't acknowledge his presence. His ever-present smirk widened into a grin. It was the start of another round of one of his favorite games.

"It sure is late for you to be walking around all by your lonesome—not that I don't know you can defend yourself. I've seen your handiwork personally, but still..." he trailed off, looking at her profile from the corner of his eye. "These streets have been getting more dangerous these days. What with all the gangs and even a serial Slasher! I would've thought that brutish pet of yours would've faithfully walked you home!"

Katsuko didn't rise to his bait, far too used to his attempts to rile her by now. That didn't dissuade Izaya however, if anything, her lack of reaction fueled him to continue this round of the game.

"You know, it's been _sooo looong_ since I've last heard you say my name, Kitty-Kat. I think I'm starting to forget what your voice sounds like!" he said airily, before leaning closer and invading her personal space, a dangerous smile on his lips. She carefully didn't recoil away. "Though, I must say, the way you said it the last time _still_ gets me all bothered..." he whispered, eyelids drooping as he waited for a delicious reaction.

She didn't give one. Katsuko merely kept her eyes trained ahead, eagerly waiting for the moment her apartment building comes into view. Inside his mind, he thought up various other ways to try and invoke one of her many, lovely reactions. He could ask how is it she got to be so good at ignoring things that pained her? Was it the years of neglect and loneliness she suffered by her dear, old daddy's hand? Was it slowly watching her Mother fade from life day-by-day until she went up to the big pearly gates in the sky? Or perhaps had Izaya himself been the one to help her with this skill? So many things he could poke at... but, no. Izaya knew her well enough to know she's healed over those wounds and anything he had to say about them would just slide off of her.

He needed something _fresh_.

He hummed loudly, purposely drawing her attention even though he knew she was acutely aware of him already. She just wasn't showing it.

"You know, the funniest thing happened to me after I left Russia Sushi eariler..." he trailed off and pretended to wait for her to inquire with; ' _What Izaya? What happened to you?_ ', closely watching the woman next to him out of the corner of his eye. A grin of anticipation bubbling inside his chest. "Well, you know how much I love how Denis carefully prepares his fatty tuna and since it's Thursday, you know how Russia Sushi always has half-off specials on Thursdays, I thought that I'd stop by and pick some up since I was in town for a job." he rambled on.

Katsuko knew better than to entertain this act, Izaya never spoke a word without an alterior motive already planned. He was setting her up for something. And if he was confident enough to say it to her face then it would be something wounding. She began to mentally brace herself for his attack. He skipped out in front of her, clasping his hands behind his back.

"As soon as I left the door, I ran into _Shizu-chan_ of all people!"

The words registered, Katsuko's steps faltered.

Izaya's smirk widened in victory, brown eyes lighting up.

Shizuo had been there. He had made it to meet her, but _this man_... this man in front of her-she bit the inside of her cheek to rein in her anger and pain. She would not give him the satisfaction. Her apartment building _finally_ came into view and she inwardly cheered herself of he rest of the way through the parking lot to the elevator. She calmly pressed the call button, hand reaching into the pocket of her hoodie to retrieve her cell phone and pretending to busy herself on it. Not allowing the anger and hurt bubbling in her chest to show on her face.

She was trained not to show weakness. Not to anyone.

"That monster of yours chased me for well over a couple hours. You'd almost think that he had nothing better to do." he taunted, rubbing it in the way he was best at. Trying to ellicit that sought after reaction. "I will never understand what it is that draws you to him, Kitty-Kat. I decided years ago that he was decidedly _un_ lovable!" he exclaimed, helplessly throwing his hands into the air.

The metal doors opened and she stepped inside them, pressing the button for the third floor. Izaya stayed outside the elevator, smirking insuffferably. She leaned back against the wall and continued to ignore the dark-haired man's very existance. That didn't mean that stopped his words from reaching her ears.

"But then again..." he laughed suddenly, "you've always been the best at loving the unlovable!"

The doors closed and Katsuko felt the strength leave her legs, causing her to slide down one side of the elevator walls. An old ache rolled and thrashed inside her chest. It had been _months_ since the last time she had seen Orihara Izaya and he so effortlessly crawled under her skin with a few measly words. It had been over two years since she last spoke to him and yet, seeing his face, hearing his voice again...

She wondered when, exactly, it would stop hurting so much?

" _Damn him_..." she whispered, throat tight.

The metal door closed, leaving Izaya standing alone in the parking garage. His smile softened as he looked at the closed metal door. He stared at only a moment longer before he turned on his heel and began heading back to his aparment in Shinjuku. She had not even spared him an annoyed glance or given and angry huff. Kitty-Kat was still holding true to her vow of silence and as much as he loved playing this game with her, he was really beginning to miss seeing all of her reactions and expressions. She always had the best ones at the most unexpected of times! On his way back through the always-changing streets of Ikebukuro, Izaya found himself humming an old American pop song under his breath, a smile on his lips.

" _And when you go, go, go, go... I know... it never ends, never ends..._ "

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: "Another Round"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **Izayaaaaa! Finally, a sneak peak at their relationship! Hope you guys liked this brief look. It really took too long for this to happen.**

 **Wuv yew all!**

 _-Nanami_


	12. Chapter Eleven, Fried Eggs

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: "Fried Eggs"**

 _"Change is never easy, you fight to hold on and you fight to let go."_

* * *

 _ **Date: September, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

* * *

" _Oi_! Katsu-nee! How do you want these eggs done?!" a teenaged girl shouted out the kitchen doorway. Instead of a verbal answer, a pair of feet began to stampede across the tatami on course to the kitchen. Mikage rolled her brown eyes, already half-expecting an exaggerated reaction.

"NO, NO, NO! _STOP_!" shouted a panicked voice from down the hall. A girl, not more than sixteen, tumbled into the kitchen and nearly cracked her head on the counter on entry. The eighteen-year-old man sitting at said counter had laid a large, meaty hand on her head to stop it from colliding with the afore mentioned stone counter. Eijirou grumbled about her being more careful but he went completely ignored as wide teal eyes locked onto her younger cousin's form.

"Mimi!" Katsuko gasped, ignoring the large palm still attached to her head and looking at the girl in (annoyingly enough) _genuine_ fear. "You _can't_ cook! Remember what happened the last time you offer to cook the rice?! The _rice_ , Mimi!" she cried desperately, inching towards the pan in the girl's hand, very much like she was hold a switch to an active bomb.

Mikage huffed and narrowed her eyes in irritation at Katsuko. Then, on a poorly restrained impulse, farm-fresh eggs were propelled through the air in rapid succession towards the American. Katsuko yelped, scrambling backwards with her hands raised to intercept. One-Two-Three-" _MIMI!_ " she pleaded-Four-Five-"STOP!"-Six-"THROWING!"-Seven, Eight-"EGGS!"

Eijirou, the _ass_ , was laughing at the scene of his sister chucking eggs at his cousin. That is, until Katsuko missed one. One that was not aimed at her. It cracked against Eijirou's scalp with a satisfying _splat_. Mikage was smirking now, tossing up and down a remaining egg in her hand as she watched the yolk drip down his brow. Katsuko snickered, carefully moving towards the counter where she could place the armful of fragile eggs down. Eijirou let out a low growl and his hand moved toward the safeguarded eggs with vengeful intent, Katsuko was quicker as she slapped his wrist, causing him to recoil. Eijirou turned his scowl to Katsuko and she pinned him with a stern look as she moved the eggs farther away, beginning to make breakfast, cracking and mixing the eggs while the pan heated on the stove top. All of this was happening even though her hair was in utter disarray. She had woken up from a dead sleep when her cousin had threatened to cook.

Mikage sat herself on top of the counter, watching as Katsuko pulled out the other things that would be accompanying the cooked eggs. She crossed her arms over her near non-existent chest and began to sulk. "You always make breakfast recently and I... just... wanted to be helpful, Katsu-nee." the fifteen-year-old mumbled to herself.

Hearing that, Katsuko's melted very much like the butter in the pan. She then turned a wobbly, stupid-wide smile towards her baby cousin and began to gush over her, flinging her arms wide as she moved in for a hug.

"No." Mikage denied immediately, pointing a rude finger in the other girl's face. "Don't _even try it_."

"Mimi!" Katsuko gushed, stars in her eyes and stupid, gooey look on her face. Mikage inching away even now. "You're so _cuuuute_! I can't help but want to squeeze you when you say things like that with such adorable look on your face!" she insisted. Mikage's face began to burn bright with embarrassment and Eijirou burst into laughter as he washed the yolk out of his hair at the sink, enjoying his sister's plight with a vindictive sort of pleasure only a older sibling could possess. Mikage rolled her eyes and shuffled farther down the counter, relieved when her cousin went back to cooking instead of trying to pile her suffocating form of ' _affection_ ' on her. Katsu-nee has gotten even worse these last few months, but... Mikage couldn't find it in her to _completely_ dislike all the forced hugs and overt displays of affections. Not that she would _ever_ say that aloud. She would literally rather die before that happened.

Breakfast was made with not much fuss after that, Katsuko valiantly hurried around the kitchen and prepared breakfast and threw together her and her cousin's lunches while fighting off Stupid-Eijirou's grabby hands from touching the cooking food, pleading with Mikage to help her in her defense against the older teen. Things only began to get rowdy after the fish was cooked and the rice was hot. By then, the head of the house had woken up and entered the kitchen.

"What are you all getting into out here?" bellowed a rough voice. Katsuko's newly attempted hugging of Mikage was interrupted by a grin as she turned and greeted her Uncle Eiji cheerfully. The man that looked every bit like an aged Eijirou with greying auburn hair stepped into the kitchen, looking impeccable for someone who had just woken up, if still a bit red-eyed and stubbly around the chin.

"It's too early for any trouble." he warned, sending _Eijirou_ (and only Eijirou) a stern look. Eijirou gulped nervously and released his hold on the scruff of Mikage's shirt, leaving him unprepared for her retaliatory shin-kick. Eijirou cursed heatedly and the mild rough-housing started up again. Eiji let out a tired sigh as he closed his eyes and joined his children at the counter, he was always tired these days it seemed. Then he smelt his favorite brand of green tea, freshly brewed. He opened his eyes again to his only niece smiling softly up at him as she pushed the hot cup forward. He took the cup with a grateful nod of the head, relishing the first sip of the day.

"Has Eiichi come out of that den of his yet?" he asked his niece. Paying only half a mind to the slowly escalating brawl on the other side of the kitchen, he would only step in if they try and break something. Whether it was a dish or a bone wasn't as much of a concern.

Katsuko couldn't fight down the tension that appeared in her shoulders at the question but she remained smiling. "Not yet." she said quieter than she honestly would've liked. Eiji noticed the change in her posture but didn't comment on it. It wasn't his place to. Breakfast was finished and dished out into five servings, Katsuko paused over the fifth plate. A habitual unease washing over her.

Eijirou glanced up from shoveling his food to look at his cousin, noticing her obvious hesitation. "...want me to take it?" he offered, cheek stuffed with rice and meat.

Katsuko shook her head firmly, preparing the tray. "No, it's fine. I can do it." she assured him, flashing him a confident smile. Although she was tempted to take him up on that offer, it was her job to do it. That didn't stop her from planting a grateful kiss on the top of Stupid Eijirou's head for offering in the first place. She snickered as he made a disgusted noise and raised a hand to wipe off any trace of it. Neither of her cousin's nor her Uncle pressed her any further than that as she collected the food and left the kitchen, heading further into the house.

She passed her and Mikage's rooms and she paused a moment at the next one out of habit, like she had still been expecting it's inhabitant to still be snoring loudly with college textbooks messily strewn around the room with his dirty laundry. It was empty now though, and had been for months. A thin layer of dust was beginning to set over the room, stripped bare of any personality that it once had. It still faintly smelt like Eiichirou, Katsuko thought sadly. She continued walking towards the end of the hall. Her heartbeat picked up in speed from her nerves and she willed it to calm as she stood in front of his bedroom door. A calloused hand lifted and knocked on the door, a small, irrational part of her hoping that she wasn't heard or that he was still sleeping.

"Come in." came a deep from the other side.

No luck.

The door slid open easily and she could see her Father was sitting at the low table in the center of his room, a pile of documents that were laid on it was what kept his attention. His brown eyes were focused through the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and didn't raise once as she opened the door fully. Katsuko kept her head lowered as she silently shuffled into the room, placing the tray of breakfast on the only cleared spot on the table, resisting the urge to glance up and risk meeting her Father's eye. His hair, though not long, was clearly disheveled from sleep. It was matted on one side and sticking up in places on the other, she almost smiled at the sight. She did notice that he hadn't shaved yet again, Katsuko wondered if he decided to grow a beard again. She remembers him having one when she was really young and thought that he looked rather handsome with one, she always thought that it made him seem... a bit more approachable? He seemed to smile more then, too...

"Was there something else?" he asked suddenly, startling her out of her musings.

"N-No, Chichiue!" she stammered, bowing awkwardly out of habit and retreating back out into the hall, sliding the door shut behind her.

She slowly let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding once a few steps away and she was sure he couldn't overhear her. Her chest tightened as she thought over what had happened only minutes before. She was frustrated with herself. Katsuko wished she knew how to talk to him instead of turning into a nervous wreck every time she was in the same room as him. The only time she ever seemed to not turn into a babbling idiot around him when was she was training and even then she could never find a way to speak with him, not while surrounded by everyone else.

"Eijirou, you asshat! Give me back my fish!" Katsuko heard echo through the hall. Her lips quirked into a half-smile, she breathed deeply, closing her eyes and wrapping a hand around the cross on her neck as she counted her every blessing. Then she went back into the kitchen to eat before preparing for the rest of the day.

Katsuko loved her utterly strange, sometimes violent, and emotionally standoffish family.

She really did.

* * *

There was a knock on the screen door as Katsuko finished tying off the end of her single braid, trying and failing to completely manage the strands of defiant hair that stuck out. "Yeah?" she called, letting them know she was decent.

Mikage was the one to step in, dressed in her black school uniform, she lifted a scrunchie in her hand. "Katsu-nee, do you have a minute to do my hair?"

Katsuko grinned, scooting back and patting the seat in front of the mirror. "Of course! C'mere and sit!" The fifteen-year-old did as she was told and say cross-legged in front of her cousin, allowing the other girl to take a brush and begin the arduous task of taming the beastly Sharaku hair. An intimate, quiet scene like this one between the girls was commonplace in recent months. It was only natural, of course.

They had become as close as real sisters since Miyo's funeral last fall.

Mikage had taken up the habit of going to Katsuko for many things that she had once relied on her Mother for, things that her Father or Brothers wouldn't be able to do anything about. She missed her calm, soothing Mother dearly and every day, but, it comforted Mikage somewhat to be able to lean on her cousin in some instances. Like when it came to her hair or clothes. Mikage never seemed to have any clue about what to do when it came to things like that and she knew, without even asking, that the rest of the male members of her family would be just as hopelessly clueless.

Speaking of...

"Oi, Kasu-nee, have you..." Mikage trailed off, uncertain about bringing this up so out of the blue. After a moment and a gentle nudge from Katsuko, she spoke up again. "Have you spoken with Eiichirou-nii since he... _y'know_?"

Katsuko paused in brushing, a small sadness covering her heart. She pushed it down as she met Mikage's eyes in the mirror with a soothing smile, just like Aunt Miyo had taught her. "No." she said, "But when he's ready then he knows where to find us. You know how he can get when he's mad, he's just as stubborn as any of us! He'll come back to visit after he's had enough time to clear his head. I'm sure of it!" she laughed.

A look of disappointment flashed over the younger girl's face before she smoothed it out, returning to the neutral expression that she favored most. Katsuko finished taming Mikage's wild mane and styled it similar to hers a long braid with her fringe parted down the middle of her face whereas Katsuko had a habit of tucking it all to one side. Katsuko continued to smile and changed the subject to revolve around any cute boys Mikage's met recently which resulted in a flustered, stammering Mikage that had to flee the room not long after that with the excuse of being late to school. It was still six a.m. Katsuko noted with amusement.

What Katsuko failed to mention to her cousin was that in the second drawer of her writing desk, she had was a hastily written address and a cellphone number to be used only in case of emergency stuffed into a corner under a pile of pencils and anime-themed notebooks.

Checking her hair and adjusting her Roka uniform one last time, she collected her too-large lunch along with her school bag and headed out the front door, locking it behind her as the others had already left. As soon as she stepped out of the gate and onto the street she saw an unfairly tall teenager with dyed-blonde hair waiting on the sidewalk opposite her, sitting on a bench as he double-checked his history homework. Katsuko grinned before she took a deep breath, holding it in for a second.

" _HIIIII_ , SHIZUUUU!" she called at the top of her lungs, feeling like she failed to get across _just_ how happy she was to see him this morning.

The boy startled, his textbook was sent flying through the air.

Katsuko broke down into helpless giggles as he sent her an annoyed glare. He grumpily took back his textbook after the girl rightfully ran to retrieve it from the shrubs down the street, brushing off the dirt and maintaining his glare. She looked far too innocent and he was sorely tempted to pull on that braid dangling over her shoulder. He didn't. The day was still early after all and he was sure the urge would come up again before it was over.

"Remind me why I even come here again?" he asked irritably, mostly to himself. Katsuko giggled again and Shizuo rolled his eyes at her infectious smile, if he stared too long he might catch it himself.

" _Because_ Shizu-" she shouted, ever cheerful as she stood on the tips of her toes to try (and fail) to be even with his eyes. Why did he have to get so tall? It wasn't fair. "Who else would bring this kind of excitement to your life like I do?"

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: "Fried Eggs"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **And we're back in business baby! Nice, another chapter and it hasn't been an entire month! Alright, so, this chapter was originally going to be longer with the Twin's making their intro and a better look at Kat's home life and training but I felt satisfied with just this look at the two-year time-skip from when Kat first moved to Ikebukuro. Plus some light on where she currently stands with each of her family members, including the passing of Aunt Miyo and raising the question of why** **Eiichirou left** **!**

 **From now on though, the flashbacks will revolve around he events of this timeframe and we'll get to see more interactions with the Twin's, Kat's family, more Shizuo, some others you might not expect, even Kat's first meeting with Izaya and the beginning of High School! So excited to get this going! Thank you** **Momochan77, DannyPhantom619, SirSwag333, ClosetCase and xenocaanan for keeping up and reviewing this! I appreciate it!**

 **I'm not sure if I mentioned this before but I made a picture of Shizuo and Katsuko for the cover of this a while ago. It's on my Deviantart account if you're curious to know what Kat looks like around this time frame. It's quite fluffy, if I do say so myself. My account name is:** MissNanamiChan

 **Alright, I w** **uv yew all!**

 _-Nanami_


	13. Chapter Twelve, The Babysitter

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language and some violence.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: "The Babysitter"**

 _"Silence is Golden... unless you have kids, then silence is suspicious."_

* * *

 _ **Date: September, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

 _ **Tuesday**_

* * *

A brief moment of weightlessness.

She landed _hard_ , her body bouncing off the tatami mats.

Without a chance to breathe, she was on her feet again, hands raised. Ao-san was four years her senior and twice her size, she could not show any sign she was getting tired. He, however, was breathing semi-heavily. This would not last much longer. He moved for a hold on her uwagi and she moved around his reach easily, slipping her hand up and getting a hold on his wrist, turning, pulling, and forcing him to roll. She followed up with a pin before he could get his bearing again.

"Again." her Father said tonelessly.

Ao-san stood opposite of her, jaw set tightly. Her body protested her every movement, she was worried that her muscles were going to rebel soon. Around them, she could hear the sounds of everyone else's training in the Gym. Uncle Eiji was teaching on the other side of the room and she often heard a low grunt that sounded like it belonged to Eijirou. They might have all been miles away to Katsuko. Her Father was watching her every move critically. This was not a competition, but Katsuko felt as if she had to win. Ao-san was slower to respond to her advances, unable to free himself of her holds.

It ended faster than the last time.

"Again."

Everyone in her family has a trait of firey brown eyes, even after Aunt Miyo's passing both her husband and all her children have a fire in their eyes that haven't dimmed.

Her Father's eyes were cold.

Katsuko did not relent, taking each opening he left and using it to her favor. As Ao-san pat his hand against the arm she had around his neck, surrendering. In the safety of her mind, she selfishly wished that Aunt Miyo hadn't died so her Father wouldn't have felt the need move back here. He could still be training celebrities in Europe instead of alternating between locking himself in his study to do paperwork or overseeing her training.

"Again."

She was smaller, faster, she could climb Ao-san's back and he would not be able to find a solid hold on her. Katsuko twisted, locking her ankles around him as she pulled him to the ground, pinning him. Quietly, she selfishly wished that Eiichirou hadn't moved out so he could mess up her hair and silently tell her that she didn't have to try to be a part of the family because she already was. She never had anything to prove.

"Again."

Katsuko repeated these things back and berated herself for the selfish wishes. How horribly self-centered she was.

She silently asked for forgiveness for her thoughts and sucked it up. Twisting her hips and throwing her opponent's weight over her shoulder, he went easily. He landed on his back, hitting the tatami floor with a low grunt. Ao-san was done, he was too tired to continue any further. Her breaths were coming out short, but controlled. She had to be in control of that at least.

She looked towards her Father, still awaiting his approval.

His brown eyes were cold, hard... _empty_.

"Ao, rest." he dismissed before calling her next partner. "Shishizaki."

Katsuko pressed her lips together tightly.

Shishizaki stood from where he had previously been resting from his practice. He had worn down his partner, Jun-san, as well. The dark-haired teen had a faintly pained expression as he faced her, brows furrowed in what almost looked to be frustration. The corner of her lips twitched up. Shishizaki was always more concerned about the other person than he was about himself. She bowed at the waist to the boy across from her, he mirrored her.

"Begin!"

* * *

Katsuko brought the towel to her face, wiping away the sweat she had worked up. It had been a long class today. She was at least able to improve on her throwing technique some today, Shishizaki had been a real help with that. His technique was always so... well, she didn't want to say _perfect_ but it was really, really good in her opinion. In fact, to Katsuko it seemed that Shishizaki excelled at anything he put his mind to. She felt a smile slip onto her face as she remembered back to when they were sparring, how gracefully he had moved each time he went to counter her, how fluidly they moved around each other, like they were the tide on the beach.

Her mind wandered to one particularly distracting memory of the recent training and Katsuko felt her face begin to heat up again. It was after they had been at it for about twenty minutes, both of them had been breathing heavily, Katsuko's undershirt had begun to cling uncomfortably to her skin while her eye had gotten caught on the sight of the boy across from her. Hajime's expression had been so calm and collected yet his dark-grey eyes were so fierce, it was like looking up into a stormy sky! She had watched in a strange fascination as a droplet of sweat ran down his temple, over the taut muscles in his neck and over his sharp collar bones, her teal eyes had ( _shamefully_ ) lingered on his muscular chest that had been left partially exposed by her last attempt to pin him to the floor.

"Haaaah…" Katsuko sighed as she pressed her cool hands to her rapidly warming cheeks, feeling her stomach turn itself into knots for some strange reason. She didn't know what came over her, but lately she's been having these kind of thoughts more and more often. Mostly at the most inconvenient of times, too! A hand brushed her elbow and Katsuko's drifting thoughts were diverted as she glanced back to see dark-grey eyes looking down at her, the very same eyes she had just been thinking about. She fought down the habitual blush that rose to her face following Hajime Shishizaki's presence, especially at so close of range that she could smell the kind of shampoo he used! Gosh... he smelt like _Christmas_ -shoving that line of thought way, _way_ down Katsuko took a hasty step back, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process.

"Sh-Shizi- _ah_ , uhm," she mentally flailed as her tongue refused to cooperate anymore. She wanted nothing more than to dissolve into a puddle of goo at the point she _finally_ managed to stop stammering. Her entire face was on fire, she was sure. "Shishizaki-kun! Was there something you needed!?" she cringed at her volume. She had just yelled in his face! His _face_! Gosh, she was such a babbling idiot!

The seventeen-year-old boy in front of her let out a slight chuckle, easily smiling as the worry lines on his brow melted away. "Ah, it's nothing much. I just wanted to see if you were alright is all. You really pushed yourself hard today, Kat-san."

She felt her chest flutter oddly after hearing his concern. After a moment of speechless silence, Katsuko remembered herself and answered by blowing air out of the side of her cheek as she waved her hand widely in an exaggerated gesture. Completely oblivious to the fact she nearly clipped poor Hajime had he not reacted quicker, avoiding her hand with grace.

"Psssh! Me? _Naaah_! I'm used to this kind of exercise! In fact, I think Chichiue went kind of easy on me because he didn't want to intimidate the younger boys from Uncle's class." she babbled thoughtlessly, oblivious to the line that reformed between Hajime's brow.

It wasn't as if she was wrong in her line of thinking though, she really has had training sessions where she would end up in a bruised lump on the tatami. More than once in the last year, her cousin Eijiro has been tasked with carrying her back to her bed when her legs would no longer hold her up. She was smaller and not as physically strong as most of the opponents she faced, she knew this, but it wouldn't stop her from entering the Gym again the next day. What she lacked in strength she would make up for in speed and flexibility. What she lacked in size she would make up for in stamina and endurance. Katsuko would do this and make her Mama and Father proud of her determination and unbendable spirit!

But still, it didn't stop the people around her from being concerned.

"Kat-san... I—" Hajime started but was interrupted by the sudden squeal of a young voice.

"Katsuko-oneesan!" called out a small brown-haired girl, interrupting what Shishizaki was about to say. Recognizing the voice, Katsuko subtly adjusted her keikogi, tightening the uwagi so that the bruises that Ao-san left on her collar weren't immediately visible. The auburn-haired girl turned, grinned wide at the six-year-old dashing up to meet her.

"Hi, Mairu!" she cheerfully greeted, smiling wider as the girl hastily flung her long ponytail over her shoulder and pushed up her large, square-rimmed glasses as she latched onto the teenaged girl's hand. She also noticed the small twin of the girl following close by with the elderly, hard-faced sliver-haired woman she knew as Miss Tsugi, their nanny. Mairu began bouncing around with youthful energy, still holding onto Katsuko's hand.

"So are you excited for today, Katsuko-oneesan? Are you? Because _I'm_ excited! We're gonna have SO much fun today, I just _know_ it! You're always fun to be around Katsuko-oneesan, you are definitely the best teacher in class! Waaaay better than Kiko-sensei! She's always so strict but _you_ always make the lessons fun for everyone! I just know we're gonna have a great time today! You know Kuru-nee, right? My twin. She won't say it aloud but she likes you too and she's really, really excited about—" by now, Kururi had caught back up with her rambunctious twin and pinched her cheek to stop her endless chattering. "Owowowowowowwww! Kuru-neeeee! That _hurts_!"

"...hush." the short-haired girl mumbled. She then looked up at the auburn-haired teen and meekly offered a shy greeting. "...hello again, Katsu... oneesan…"

Katsuko's smile was warm and inviting in every way possible, her teal eyes practically shining. She squatted down to be at eye-level with the two girls, wrapping her own hand around Mairu's much smaller one, glancing between them. "I'm looking forward to spending the day with you two as well. I'm sure we're going to have a great time together!"

The Twin's shared a look before smiling and grinning respectively. Then Mairu's wide, curious brown eyes flickered up to something behind Katsuko's shoulder, her grin widened twice fold as she blurted the first thing that came to her mind. "Oooh! Who's the hottie?"

Katsuko barely registered the word before her face lit up a tomato-like red hue, feeling both embarrassment and acknowledging the truth of Mairu's exclamation. Not that a seven-year-old should know what exactly a ' _hottie_ ' is anyway. Katsuko sprung up and turned on her heel, meeting the bewildered dark eyes of Shishizaki Hajime. "O-Oh! Shishizaki-kun! I'm so sorry about that, what was it you were saying before?"

Hajime blinked rapidly, moving his attention from the two very _intent_ pairs of brown eyes on him back to the seafoam-eyed girl in front of him. "Ah, uhm… it's actually..." he trailed off, tearing his eyes from seafoam-greens orbs to the beige wall of the Gym's locker room, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. As his silence continued, Katsuko's smile began to dim in concern and he mentally kicked himself in the rear. "You know what, it's not that important." he dismissed hastily, laughing nervously.

"Oh, okay..." she mumbled, also forcing out a nervous sounding chuckle as a twinge of disappointment flitted through her chest.

Hajime waved a bit awkwardly at the girls as he began walking away. "I'll see you tomorrow Kat-san, take it easy!"

Katsuko jerked her hand up in a wave, "Not if I see _you_ first! Yep!"

Oh, dear. As soon as his back was to her, her smile fell as she cringed inwardly, realizing how creepy that sounded only after it was too late. As she was inwardly scolding her stupidity, she completely failed to notice how Hajime covered his mouth to hide his smile, stifling a laugh. As soon as the boy was out of sight, Katsuko slapped a palm to her forehead, groaning miserably.

She regret _everything_.

"Wooow, Katsuko-oneesan." Mairu whistled. Oh, Mairu and Kururi was still there. Present for that embarrassing moment. Joy. "That was _pretty_ bad! You're just lucky that you're a _quirky_ -kind of cute."

"I know..." Katsuko whispered from between her fingers. It really was horrible—Mairu's words registered. "Wait, what does that mean?"

Mairu began to snicker at the clueless look on Katsuko's face while Kururi simply shook her head at her twin's teasing of their babysitter. It was then that the elderly woman known as Miss Tsugi abruptly cleared her throat, drawing all attention to her. "Miss Sharaku, you are already acquainted with both the girls so I will not waste time making introductions. I am taking the afternoon to run personal errands so I will leave these two in your care until the late afternoon. I do not think my errands will keep me any later than seven o'clock but in the case that they do, the girls have a class project that they need to finish and chores to do around the house." Katsuko nodded quickly, barely managing to catch all of the bun-haired woman's instructions. Miss Tsugi then gestured her to hold out her hand, "Take this, it is a pager with a direct line to me if either of them get into anything that you are... _unequipped_ to deal with." the woman said formally and eerily, pushing a small black device into Katsuko's hand.

"O-okay!" Katsuko said uneasily, a bit overwhelmed. Maybe Shizu had a point. Was she really ready for something like this? Then Mairu began giggling and bouncing around with Katsuko's hand in both of hers and the teenager was hit the urge to swoop her up and _squeeze_! Determined teal eyes met with Miss Tsugi's coal-black ones and she grinned, "Don't worry about a thing, Ma'am! I won't let you down!"

Miss Tsugi demurely arched one eyebrow at the young woman's confidence and nodded slightly, "We will see..." and then she left the Orihara twin's in Katsuko's care.

"Alright girls!" Katsuko exclaimed, looking down at both girls with bubbly excitement washing off her in waves. "I'm going to go get changed and then let's get whatever homework you have out of the way and wrap up any chores and _then_ we can get to playing! I have a lot of ideas of what we can do for fun! Like go to the aquarium and learn about the sea life or go to a library and check out some really cool books or-"

The Twin's shared a look between them as their babysitter continued to babble, silently communicating with one another.

"Tsugi-Obasan lets us play first." they said in unison, popping Katsuko's bubble.

She looked at the earnest round faces of both girls and the teen's smile wilted in confusion. "...really?" Katsuko asked dubiously.

"Really." they insisted.

Katsuko was confused. It was a rule in her house that she has always had to finish her homework before playing. Though, when she lived with Mama in California she never had any chores because Gerdy (Their Housekeeper back in Malibu) had always taken care of everything. But since she came to live in Japan, she's always had to train, finish her homework and scratch off all of her duties on the Chore List _before_ she could do anything fun like listen to music or go hang out with Shizu. (If it wasn't too late in the evening, of course) So, this was undoubtedly foreign to her. Still, as Katsuko looked down at the two faces of the girls in front of her, she felt a smile grow. It's not as if two little angels like them would ever even think of lying!

To Katsuko, it was just _unimaginable_.

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve: "The Babysitter"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **Yeahhh! We've got another chapter! I just hope that I nailed Mairu and Kururi's personalities well enough. Fun fact, writing this story is actually pretty relaxing after jamming on 'ASfT' for a week straight. These shorter chapters have definitely helped a lot. I hope you guys liked it! Not much longer now until a certain raven-haired information broker makes his entrance!**

 **Thank you to xenocaanan, Momochan77 and ClosetCase for spending the time and giving me your thoughts on the last chapter! I really appreciate it!**

 **I w** **uv yew all!**

 _-Nanami_


	14. Chapter Thirteen, Clueless

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

" **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: "Clueless"**

" _Best Friends: they know how crazy you are yet they still choose to be seen in public with you."_

* * *

 _ **Date: September, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

 _ **Sunday**_

* * *

It was a Sunday. A nice, peacefully quiet, Sunday. Shizuo had hoped to spend the day reading or just napping somewhere warm maybe? His hopes were dashed the moment an auburn-haired girl showed up at his door and began knocking repeatedly while calling him by that annoying nickname. The thought of pretending he wasn't home was thrown out the window as well when his Mother answered the front door.

"Oh, Katsuko-chan! Are you here to see Shizuo? He's just upstairs in his room." she told the cheerful sixteen-year-old, unknowingly ratting her eldest son out. He tried not to bemoan the loss of his quiet Sunday plans too much. "Shizuo, Katsuko-chan's here to see you! Shizuo!"

"I'll be down in a minute!" he answered reluctantly. By the time he had put down the detective novel he'd been reading and made it down into the kitchen, Kat was already seated at the table chatting with his Mother. Once blue-green eyes caught sight of dyed blonde locks she turned and grinned widely at him before scowling just as fast.

"Well, it's about time! I can't believe you, hiding up in your room! Don't you know what day it is?" she demanded, standing up from her seat and marching up to the taller boy. This caused him to arch an eyebrow as he looked down at her.

"...Sunday?" he answered carefully as Shizuo wasn't entirely sure what his friend's current mood was like. As he's learned over the years of knowing her that there comes a certain (and dangerous) time each month when it was considered _unwise_ to give the martial artist any answer that wasn't the right one. Too bad for Shizuo that he never seemed to know the right answer when it came to what exactly Kat wanted.

Kat crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at the superhuman teen. "It's the _last_ Sunday of the month! And _that_ means that Shin-Bungiza is having a special sale on movie tickets and I already told you _last week_ that they're showing ' _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ ' and we _always go to the movies on the last Sunday of the month, Shizuo!_ "

"Oh. Right." Shizuo scratched the back of his head sheepishly, feeling a bit bad that it had slipped his mind. Kat groaned in exasperation and Shizuo frowned in thought. It was the end of the month already? He could've sworn that it was just last week they were planning for summer break and now they were already well into their second term. Time flew by faster than Shizuo realized. It was only next April that they were going to be entering High School together, the thought made him uneasy for some reason. It kind of felt like time was moving too fast.

" _Jeez_ , Shizu! If I hadn't come by you might've slept the entire day away! What a waste that would've been..." Kat sighed, shaking her head at him with her hands on her hips. It only slightly unnerved Shizuo how well she knew his habits. She continued to talk for the both of them. "It's such a nice day out, we should definitely go and do something after the movie! Like, go to Kishimojindo temple and walk around o bit or visit the park— _Ooh!_ I heard from Owagata-san in class B-1 that a couple comedy groups were going to be preforming at the theater in Nishi-Ikebukuro park today!"

She was looking at him with sparkly and very expectant teal eyes now. Shizuo just shrugged in response. He didn't really care what they ended up doing, it was with Kat, so...

Shizuo and Kasuka's Mother, Heiwajima Namiko, clapped her hands together and smiled at the teens. "I think that's a great idea! But Shizuo dear, if you're going out could you pick up some milk and eggs on your way home? We're almost out."

Before Shizuo had a chance to answer, Kat spun on her heel and gave the dark-haired woman a thumbs-up and a dazzling grin. "No problem! We'll get it done for you Mrs. Heiwajima!"

"Oh, Katsuko-chan, you are just too sweet!" Namiko gushed. Shizuo's grumbling of answering things for him went entirely ignored as everyone present knew that he was going to do it anyway. He was a good boy like that. The woman added with a coy smile, "You know, I would be just delighted to have a daughter like you one day, Katsuko-chan!"

Kasuka, who had been passing through the kitchen for a light snack, paused as he overheard his Mother's thinly-veiled insinuation. Kasuka may have only been fourteen but even he could understand the not-so-hidden meaning behind his Mother's words. Cautiously, he poked his head around the corner to see how the older teens had reacted. He wondered if they were going to start acting weird now? He hoped not. Katsuko-san's forever-smile seems to have a good influence on his Nii-san's often explosive moods. Kasuka's eyes landed on the group and he saw that his Nii-san's face was blank was he stared at their Mother.

"Kaa-san, are you and Tou-san planning on having another child?" Shizuo asked, signs of confusion and suppressed hope mixing together on his face.

Kasuka let out a sigh. Nope. His Nii-san was completely clueless. Everything was going to be fine unless Katsu—

"Oh!" the girl with a braid gasped, "Another little sibling for Shizu!? That would be just too great! Shizu is the _best_ big brother and I think Kasuka would be an amazing one, too! Oh, wowie! I just know that we'd get along! I'm great with little kids y'know—"

Everything was going to stay exactly the same. They were both equally clueless, he decided. Reaching for an apple, Kasuka wondered if his Mother was onto something? Could two clueless people really get along in _that way_? Well, either way it wasn't really any of Kasuka's business. As long as it was someone who could keep him calm and happy, he didn't care who his Nii-San was with.

Namiko waved her hand, a slightly discouraged smile on her face. "I-It's nothing I was just rambling, don't pay me any mind. You two just have fun tonight."

With a brief goodbye and the confirmation of the grocery request, Shizuo threw on a warm jacket and the two middle-schoolers headed out onto the busy streets of Ikebukuro.

"Is that a new jacket?" Shizuo asked as they stepped off the train, on their way to Shin-Bungiza. He narrowed his hazel eyes at the unfamiliar piece of clothing wrapped around his friend's shoulders. It was a dark-brown cold weather jacket with a tan fur-lining along the hood, the hem and the cuffs of it. Kat spun around on cue, stuffing her hands into the pockets and spreading it out like wings to fully show it off to him. He didn't know why she would do that. It was fall and she was already wearing shorts and a sleeveless top. What was the point of a jacket if she was going to dress like that?

"It's great, yeah? I bought it with the money I've made babysitting the Twins! I saw it in a bargain bin the last time I was out shopping for— _uhm,_ important things with Mimi and after one look, I just _knew_ I had to have it! Not only is it super warm but the best part is—look, look, Shizu! Look!" she pulled on two pieces of material on the top of the hood to reveal... Shizuo deadpanned as he stared at the cat ears atop her head.

"Tah- _daaaa~_ " she sing-songed.

"You're ridiculous." he sighed, walking away.

"That's mean, Shizu!" she whined, chasing after his longer strides. As soon as she caught back up to him she began to inform him of the many ways she was very _not_ ridiculous and that in reality he was just jealous of her super warm and fluffy new jacket. Kat got him to laugh after that. At her, specifically. It was a soft chuckle really but she was more than willing to take it as a win.

* * *

 ** _Date: October, 2001_**

 ** _Friday_**

* * *

They were having ice cream _before_ dinner.

Katsuko's strawberry cone was threatening to drip over her fingers as she internally struggled with herself. Every instinct in Katsuko's body was screaming out at her right now but here she was, sitting on a bench in the park alongside Mairu and Kururi as they ate their chosen frozen treats with zero-regard to their appetites. She really was at a loss as to what to do. Even though the Twins had assured her that it was fine for them to do so, she still had a lingering suspicion that they weren't being entirely and wholly honest with her. The mere thought caused physical pain to the auburn-haired girl! So far, Miss Tsugi hasn't had any complaints as to how the girls spend their time with Katsuko but then again, Miss Tsugi never seemed to care much about what Katsuko had to report about their time.

So, when confronted with the choices of trying to pry the truth from two girls who Katsuko was still 98% certain were innocent as Angels she thought it was a better plan to get to know their personalities and preferences better! Katsuko never liked confrontation without a very good reason after all.

"So, Kururi, why don't you attend the Judo classes with Mairu at the Gym?" she asked, finally swallowing down her nerves and taking a tentative lick of her sweet, sweet strawberry ice cream. "I usually see you waiting for Mairu to finish training for the day but I don't think I've ever seen you participate before."

Kururi glanced up from her vanilla scoop but it was Mairu that answered for her older twin. "That's 'coz Kuru-nee doesn't like fighting hand-to-hand much. She really isn't the _in-your-face_ type."

"Oh, well... I don't like fighting myself either but, I know how to so that I can protect myself and my friends." the teenager confessed with a small smile. Not that Katsuko actually had that many friends and the one friend she did have _definitely_ did not need her help when it comes to a fight.

"If you don't like fighting then why do you train to be so good at it, Katsuko-oneesan? I mean, I've seen you take on the guys at the Gym and you are SO awesome! You even take on multiple guys at once sometimes! I want to be able to fight just like you when I'm grown up!" Mairu told her excitedly, oblivious to the chocolate goatee she'd acquired.

Katsuko smiled wider, grabbing her handkerchief and dabbing the corners of the little girl's sticky mouth. "Well... I first started practicing Aikido when I was about... four-years-old or so? I'd told my Mama that I wanted to be more like my Father because when I was young he was always traveling around the world and teaching people how to fight for movies and stuff. I thought that maybe he'd visit home more often if I did the same things he did. After I had told my Mama all of this, she signed me up for Aikido classes the very next day!"

"Aikido?" Mairu's nose scrunched up adorably, tilting her glasses with it. "But you're not supposed to _actually_ fight with that, right? It's only for defending. I remember Kiko-sensei I saying that once. You know Judo too, right Katsuko-oneesan?"

"Right." Katsuko confirmed, "My Father came home from a trip to India and once I'd shown him everything I'd learned when he was away, he also started teaching me Judo because as a Sharaku; I not only needed to know defense but also offense. Although I prefer to use Aikido over Judo, one of my favorite memories from when I was little is when I won my first Judo tournament when I was six!" Katsuko smiled softly, remembering the proud grin of her Mama's beautiful face as she held Father's hand in her own from the bleachers. It had also been the very first time Katsuko had ever seen him smile at her. It was a small, barely noticeable thing but Katsuko had never felt happier before that moment. It truly was one of her most precious memories.

"...defend?" Kururi mumbled to herself, brown eyes resting on her ice cream as a thoughtful look crossed her face. Katsuko was about to ask wants was on the young brunette's mind she her twin suddenly bounded off the bench they were all seated on.

"Hey! Hey, Katsuko-oneesan! Let's go to the arcade next, huh?" she asked, bouncing on her feet with a new rush of energy thanks in part to the chocolate ice cream she devoured.

"Uhm..." Katsuko mumbled, hesitation clear on her face. Miss Tsugi had mentioned something about an Arts and Crafts project the girls had to do for class but, as if sensing her reluctance, the Twins then turned two paired of wide brown eyes up at the teen and she crumbled pathetically fast under their gaze.

"...okay, I guess we can go for a little while."

"YAY!"

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: "Clueless"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! Sorry this is coming out so late but my internet issues are still persisting and I'm using this rediculous work around that has me retyping the entire darn chapter just so I can post it here. Sorry again. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and a look at how Kat and the Twins are getting on! There was even some Shizu love! Also, I want to Thank you Momochan77 and ClosetCase for writing to me, it's always fun talking with you about the story.**

 **Just a side note, but I drew some art of Kat and Izaya if anyone is interested in seeing it, it's on my DeviantArt page by the name** _MissNanamiChan_ **so... yeah, I'm wiped. Good night all.**

 **I wuv yew all! Happy Holidays!**

 _-Nanami_


	15. Chapter Fourteen, Unconditional

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a** **Shoujo** **Manga** "

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen: "Unconditional"**

 _"In the end, nothing we do or say in this lifetime will matter as much as the way we have loved one another."_

* * *

 _ **Date: October, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

 _ **Monday**_

* * *

Love.

What does one have to do to deserve to be loved? Is there some kind of hidden requirement or standard to uphold for a person to qualify for Love? There really shouldn't be, right? So why does it seem that some people have to work their asses off to earn the right to be loved by another? Jumping through hoops and juggling dozens of expectations all while on fire? You're just trying not to burn up in the flames. All of this just for the _chance_ at Love and being loved?

Why couldn't you be loved simply because you deserved to be?

"...I'm hungry. Can you cook, Katsuko-oneesan?"

It had been that one question from Mairu that started it.

Now, Katsuko was standing in the Orihara's kitchen with an apron the Twins procured from somewhere she did not see and was cooking up a healthy and nutritious meal just as Aunt Miyo had taught her. She had borrowed the landline so that she could call home and let Mikage know that they should order out for dinner as she was going to be busy with her babysitting. Katsuko did not want to risk anyone else trying to cook and end up burning down the Gym.

While she was placing the fish in the frying pan she suddenly heard the front door open and close. Katsuko then heard the sounds of footfalls on the stairs leading up to the second floor before immediately hearing a door being shut firmly. Curious, she turned the stove on low heat before stepping into the living room where Mairu was reading and Kururi was drawing, exactly where she had left them.

"Who was that?" she asked with a confused look.

"Iza-nii." Mairu answered disinterestedly, far more absorbed into the magazine she was reading. Katsuko's reaction was a bit delayed as she processed the information.

"Izi-nii?" Katsuko tried to repeat. Failed, though. Her eyes widened as she realized the connection. "Wait, _Nii_!? He's your brother!? You have an older brother I've never met?! But I've been babysitting you two for weeks now! Come to think of it, I've never met your parents either but Miss Tsugi mentioned that were busy working and that was why I haven't been able to meet them but I had _no idea_ that you had a _brother_!"

"Mom and Dad are always overseas working, we hardly ever see them since we entered primary school. Tsugi-obaasan is who cooks for us some nights but we usually order dinner from a restaurant or something. Iza-nii likes to go out though."

Hearing that caused Katsuko to frown, "Well, then who takes care of you during the days when I'm not here? I mean, Miss Tsugi can't be here all the time, she has her own grandkids to look after.!"

"Iza-nii." Kururi answered quietly, still drawing with her crayons.

"Tsugi-Obasan has _grandkids_?" Mairu asked at the same time her twin answered.

"Your brother, huh..." Katsuko mumbled, a thoughtful look on her face. "Should I go up and introduce myself then? I mean, isn't that the polite thing to do? I am a stranger taking care of his little sisters. I know _I_ would want to meet me if our positions were switched—"

"No!" Mairu interjected loudly, hopping up from where she was laying on the couch to stand in front of her babysitter. There was a startlingly serious expression on the six-year-old's face as she grabbed the front of Katsuko's tee. "You can't _ever_ meet Iza-nii! He's is a real shady guy, Katsuko-oneesan, you don't want _anything_ to do with him!"

Kururi nodded along with her sister, more solemnly though. "...trouble."

"Wha—W-Why?" she asked, beyond puzzled. Why would they say such things about their own brother?

Mairu shook her head slowly and spoke in the most serious tone that Katsuko's ever heard from the young girl, "It's 'cos you're too nice, Katsuko-oneesan! He'd probably eat you alive."

"...if you don't leave, Iza-nii will run you off." Kururi murmured, a small frown on her face.

"Yeah! Everyone would be better off if he took a long walk off a short bridge!" Both girls nodded in agreement and Katsuko gasped.

"Girls! You just can't say that kind of thing! About _anyone_ and especially not your _brother_!" Katsuko scolded.

"Why not?" Mairu asked with innocent brown eyes, "He's a scumbag."

Kururi nodded with her sister, "...a user."

"Because—Because—" Katsuko met two pairs of brown eyes and found she actually couldn't come up with a valid reason why they shouldn't say things like that about their brother beyond: "Because he's your brother and you should always love and cherish each other!"

The Twins shared a look before Mairu suddenly squee'd, hugging the teen's leg. "Eeeep! You're so _cuuuute_ , Katsuko-oneesan!"

Katsuko huffed and (unconsciously) pouted, she was being completely serious! After shaking off Mairu's hold Katsuko went back into the kitchen to finish cooking, flipping the fish on the pan. She kind of wanted to meet this ' _Izi-nii_ ' in person now, just to see what kind of person he was with her own eyes. Surely he couldn't be as bad as the Twins make him out to be. He was related to them, after all!

"Katsuko-oneesan! We want some sweets, too!" Mairu called out.

"...mochi." Kururi confirmed.

* * *

 _ **Date: October, 2001**_

 _ **Tuesday**_

* * *

Shizu was laughing at her.

Well, not _aloud_ but it was pretty close.

" _Shizuuuuuu_!" she whined, unconsciously jutting her bottom lip out as she pushed around the rice in her half of the bento. "It's not funny! I'm actually worried that the girls might be..." Katsuko swallowed thickly, the words physically paining her as they tumbled out of her mouth. "...I think they might be _lying_ to me."

The blonde superhuman sitting beside her just shrugged, swallowing his mouthful of lunch. "So what if they are? I don't know what you want _me_ to do about it. You're the one being a pushover."

"I am NOT a pushover!"

"Yes, you are. You always are when it comes to little kids, Kat."

"Nuh-uh! Kasuka doesn't use me!"

"Only because I told him to stop."

Katsuko looked _aghast_. Shizuo's lips twitched at her expression.

"... _no! It can't be true! Not little Kasuka!_ " she whispered in disbelief, her words slipping back into her native tongue. Shizuo mostly understood anyway, he cracked a small smile at his friend's ' _startling_ ' realization. It's not nearly as bad as it might sound. When Kat first started coming by his house to hang out, Katsuka would only take advantage of Kat's weakness when it came to little things like helping with his homework or sneaking him a treat before dinner. It was really harmless, he thought.

"You make it too easy, Kat." he shook his head in exasperation. Then, he took pity on his weird friend as she began to pout in full force. "Look, if you're sure that they're using you to get away with stuff then you need to stand up for yourself. Follow your gut and put your foot down."

"But... I don't like to cause problems for other people." she said quietly, a sad look washing over her. Shizuo frowned as a thought came to his mind, one that has bothered him from before today. He looked at the auburn-haired girl with a serious expression that had her paying full attention to his words.

"Kat, one of these days, you're going to come across a bad guy who really will take advantage of your kindness. You need to start being more careful about who you trust. There are a lot of dirtbags out there that won't think twice about hurting you."

Katsuko smiled at her friend and rolled her eyes at him. "Shizu, you worry too much! When you look hard enough there is good in _everyone_. Believe me."

Shizuo's frown deepened. It was nice that she believed that (it was actually one of his favorite things about Kat) but, still... he couldn't shake the bad feeling.

"Promise me." he said suddenly.

Katsuko blinked at him. "What?"

Shizuo's face was still very serious and Katsuko didn't know what came over him. "Promise me that you'll be more careful about the people you trust, _before_ you get yourself in trouble."

She rolled her eyes at him again, this time in annoyance. "You say that like I'm always getting into trouble!"

"That's because you _are_. Do I need to remind you about last week when you helped the guy with the bike? The one I had to beat the crap out of along with his his scummy pals?"

"I thought they were actually lost!" she defended weakly. She'll admit, it wasn't her best moment. She didn't know they were a part of a street gang! The guy seemed nice... at first, then Katsuko had to dislocate one of his fingers when he tried gettin' handsy, Shizu showed up (Katsuko had been waiting for him to show up like they had agreed the day before) and the rest quickly became history.

"They all had matching tattoos!" he snapped. She frowned unrepentantly and Shizuo was certain now, he _needed_ her to promise him this. "I want to hear you say it."

" _Shizuuuuu—_ " she whined.

" _Kat_." he growled.

She let out a quiet sigh, looking up at his still-serious expression. "I _..._ pom _..._ is _..._ "

"What was that?!"

Katsuko straightened up from her slouch and raised one of her hands while placing the other one over her heart, looking directly at her friend. "I, _Katsuko Elizabeth Sharaku_ , promise to you, Heiwajima Shizuo, that I will be more careful about the people I trust!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Happy _now_?"

He pulled on her braid for her sassy response. She whined and then laughed as she massaged her scalp. They finished their rooftop lunch with Katsuko filling the air with mindless chatter and headed back to their classes.

Neither of them knew it at the time, but keeping that promise would be a lot trickier than she first anticipated.

* * *

 _ **Date: October, 2001**_

 _ **Friday**_

* * *

"Katsuko-oneesaaaaan!" Mairu cheered, jumping up from where she was watching Television to rush to the front door to greet their sitter. Kururi began putting away her crayons just in time to see her younger Twin bounce into the den with Katsuko's hand in her own smaller one. "Kuru-nee and I were talking about it and we think we should all go to the arcade again today! Kuru-nee and I got into a itty-bitty disagreement in class earlier and we can only settle it with a decisive match of _Mortal Kombat_! I WILL _FINISH_ YOU, KURU-NEE! So, whaddya think Katsuko-oneesan? Won't you take us? Take us! Take us! Take us! It'll be so much fun!"

Katsuko blinked rapidly as she processed Mairu's word spaghetti, when she did she frowned. It was just the other day they went to the Arcade instead of studying! And before that it was to a park where they played games all day long when they had to take the trash out! It wasn't as if Katsuko _disliked_ playing and having fun with the girls, but... she was supposed to be _responsible_ , right? And being responsible meant making sure to do the _un_ fun things, too. Kururi and Mairu were looking up at her with expectant brown eyes, she swallowed thickly as she mustered up her courage and remembered what Shizu had told her the other day.

"...no." she told them, her voice quieter than she would've liked.

Both Twins blinked before looking back at one another.

"What?" they asked in tandem, unnerving Katsuko slightly. Still, she held her head high and took a deep breath before clearing her throat.

"I said; _no_. You... you girls have homework and chores to do today and there's no getting out of it! But, _after_ you've finished then I'm sure we can do something fun later."

"No thanks!" Mairu said as she turned back on the television, Kururi didn't say anything as she resumed her drawing. Katsuko stared in dumbfoundment.

"H-Hey! _Uhm_ , I'm your babysitter so that means I'm in charge so—so you have to do what I say! ...right? No, right! And I say that you have to do your homework before playing!" she said, gaining some confidence.

"Nah... We're good."

" _What_!?" Katsuko squawked. She didn't understand what was happening! Where were the two angelic little girls she had been looking after these last few weeks?!

Mairu sighed as she flipped through the channels, "Listen, we like you and all Katsuko-oneesan, but honestly? We're really not holding onto any hopes that you're gonna stick around. So why bother doing what you say?"

"W... why would you say something like that, Mairu?" she croaked, throat suddenly tight.

Kururi answered, still drawing with her crayons.

"...no one stays."

Katsuko heard these words and felt her chest ache with pain.

It was the same pain she felt whenever she thought about Mama or when Father looked at her with those cold eyes. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand and fisted it into the front of her shirt, trying to grab ahold of the terrible feeling.

"You're not our first babysitter, Katsuko-oneesan, and you _probably_ won't be the last. Sooner or later, everyone gets tired of us and leaves. Even Iza-nii can't stand being around us-that's why we have Tsugi-obasan but she just shoves us onto babysitter after babysitter." Mairu informed the teen impassively, eyes flicking across the screen. "It's always just Kuru-nee and I."

Katsuko's heart squeezed painfully.

They were _six years old_... how could this have happened? Neither of the Twins were looking at Katsuko so they didn't see the fierce expression that appeared as she made up her mind.

"Well! I _am_ sticking around!" Katsuko shouted suddenly, drawing surprised looks from both girls. They stared as she planted her fists on her hips and gave the two of them stern looks. "That means homework and chores whenever I'm here _and—_ and since I'm sticking around then I expect you two to listen to and do what I say! Got it?!"

The Twins shared a look with one another. The deafening silence that filled the room after her exclamation quickly drained her confidence as she began to sweat, she forced her expression to remain neutral. Just like if she was facing off against an opponent. Eventually the two girls looked back at her and she swallowed nervously.

They nodded.

"Okay."

"...mmhm."

Katsuko breathed a sigh of relief before gifting both girls with a thousand-watt smile. "Alright! So—We'll start with your homework first! Uhm, right... what _is_ your homework for today?"

"Math." they said in tandem, getting up from what they were doing. Katsuko's tentative smile quickly brightened as the girls went for their backpacks. They were actually listening!

"All right! Let's get to it then! Ooh! I'll make some snacks-" Mairu opened her mouth, " _Healthy_ snacks." Katsuko stressed, holding up a stern finger. Mairu's excitement deflated quickly. Kururi smiled slightly at her Twin's obvious disappointment.

As Katsuko was in the kitchen cutting up apples to go with the grapes, the Twins had shared a look between them. In their silence, they both made an agreement to keep their troublesome Iza-nii away from their new Katsuko-nee for as long as humanly possible.

She was _theirs_ now, after all.

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

Katsuko brushed the black strands of synthetic hair back from her face as she turned the key in the door, clicking the lock to her apartment open. She opened the red metal door and was met with a dimly-lit hallway. "...taidama." she said quietly, not expecting an answer in return from the empty hall.

Robotically, she began through the motions of settling in, taking off her damnably unfunctional sandals and storing them in the shoe cabinet and making a mental note to wear more sensible footwear until things in the city start to settle down again. She then shrugged off her yellow hoodie and hung it on the rack above the shoes, revealing her thin frame. Her bare feet padded across the cold, wooden floor into the living room where she froze in her steps at the sight of two fourteen-year-old girls lazily reclined on the long black couch while _Vampire Ninja Carmilla Saizou_ replays on the television screen.

"Kururi! Mairu! What are you two still doing up?!" Katsuko demanded, placing her hands on her hips and giving the startled girls a thunderous look. "You both were supposed to be in bed over _two hours_ ago, it's a school night!"

Mairu was the first to spring off the couch, only after pausing the movie of course. "Nee-chan! You're home! And before you get super mad—we _only_ stayed up this late because we were worried about you! You've seen the news, Kat-nee! There were six more _Slasher_ attacks just this week! What if we had gone to bed and you hadn't come home? What if you were bleeding out in some ER while we were snoozin' the night away!? Just think how that would made us feel!" she pleaded. Katsuko was less than amused.

"So if I had wound up in the ER, your priority would've been how _you felt_ about it instead of worried if I still had all my fillings?" Katsuko deadpanned, her lips threatening to twitch up into a smile.

"Uh... no?"

Katsuko rolled her eyes at the teen and at this point, Kururi had stealthily moved from her seat on the couch to come up behind Katsuko, wrapping her arms around the woman's waist in a gentle and caring embrace. "...welcome home." she murmured into the woman's white blouse.

Mairu quickly followed her Twin's lead and glomped onto Katsuko's torso, reaching around so that she could hug her sister at the same time. Katsuko felt her resolve wear down. With a sigh she twisted her body around to be able to wrap an arm around both girls and embrace them. "Fine, fine! ...I'll let you two get away with it tonight— _only_ because you worried about my safety." Katsuko announced, untangling herself from the teen's limbs and giving them both a warning look. "What about Angel? Did _she_ get to bed at a reasonable hour?"

"She waited with us for a while too..." Kururi started but Mairu picked up for her Twin.

"But then she went on about some student council thingy she's doing tomorrow and ditched us to get some shut-eye." Mairu then blinked and, quickly added after hearing how callous that sounded. " _Though_ it was only because she was totally confident in your ability to kick ass, Kat-nee!"

"You just invalidated your own excuse." Katsuko said wryly, giving in and finally smiling. "And don't curse. I'll make you put money in the jar."

Mairu sheepishly apologized while Kururi asked how Katsuko's night went, it actually was pretty rare for the woman to be out this late at night. They both were staring at her expectantly as they waited for her answer. Katsuko sighed miserably and walked around to fall into a depressed lump on the couch. They took that as a sign that things _didn't_ go very well.

She threw her arm over her eyes as her head hit the back of the couch. "That big blonde dummy didn't show up and _He who that shall not be named_ did instead. I have a sinking suspicion one had a lot to do with the other."

The Twins shared a look.

Without a word spoken aloud, Kururi lied her head in Katsuko's lap and Mairu placed herself under Katsuko's other arm and leaned into her warmth, also conveniently resting her head atop the woman's generous chest. In response Katsuko tangled her fingers into Kururi's hair began to run them through the short locks and wrapped her arm tighter around Mairu's smaller frame and pulled her closer into her embrace.

"You want us to make'im disappear, Kat-nee?" Mairu offered for what seemed like the thousandth time.

Kururi peeked up at the older woman. "...never find him." she assured.

The idea made Katsuko laugh aloud. She lightly swatted their heads. "Don't talk about your brother that way..." she repeated for the millionth-millionth time, less fiery than it once was.

The movie began to play again, Katsuko didn't feel like going to bed right at this moment and the movie was already two-thirds over already, sooo... Mairu cuddled closer into Katsuko's side with a pleased sigh while Kururi's eyes began to get heavier with sleep. Katsuko felt a contented smile curl her lips, the pain that had stirred in her chest washing away like words in the sand. Here, she was with her family.

Kururi and Mairu... they were her girls and she loved them, unconditionally.

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen: "Unconditional"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Haah... Happy New Year! Ack. I've broken my pattern! Usually I post one chapter for each of my stories but... the end of the year is always a wishy-washy time for me. Though I'm looking forward to the next year and all the drama and changes it'll bring, I'm also mourning the last year! I knew it so well! Hopefully I'll get back into the groove as the weather starts changing and I'll get some writing done for EVERYTHING! This one was already half-done from the other week so I just finished it up.**

 **So, been wanting to do this chapter for a while now. Get Kat's relationship with the Twin's established and get back to the present for a moment. Questions about why the Twin's live with Kat, who 'Angel' is and pretty much everything in the present will be answered later on! For the immediate future? A little bit more light on Kat's present-day life and THEN we get to see how she meets a certain someone NEXT CHAPTER! Hope you guys enjoyed this one! Oh! And Thank you Momochan77, ClosetCase and DannyPhantom619 for writing to meeee~**

 **I wuv yew! Keep your spirits up out there!**

 _-Nanami_


	16. Chapter Fifteen, Unlovable

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga "**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen: "Unlovable"**

 _"It is not the most lovable individuals who stand in need of love, but the most unlovable."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

Katsuko brushed her fingers over Kururi's forehead, moving the hair from the teen's sleeping face. Mairu was quick to latch onto her other half even in her sleepy state, causing the woman to smile at the scene. She straightened up with a silent groan, mindful to not make a noise and risk waking up the Twins, she stretched and felt her spine pop relaxingly. By the time the movie had finished, both girls had fallen asleep to the sound of their idol's voice and the warmth of Katsuko's embrace. One thing Katsuko learned as she carried them back to their bed was that the girl's were _certainly_ not as light as they once were.

She slid the door closed behind her and silently passed down the darkened hallway, only pausing a moment to peek inside to the room adjacent to the Twin's, the one lit with the soft red glow of the nightlight stationed in the wall. She smiled softly at the silhouette of the teen slumbering peacefully in her bed and was content with the knowledge that everyone was well and truly asleep for the night. Everyone but her, that is. As if on cue, Katsuko fought down a jaw-cracking yawn. Rubbing her palm against her tired eyes, she headed towards her room at the end of the hall to begin getting ready for bed. Carefully stowing her borrowed wig in her closet and washing her face, fingertips lightly tracing the dark circles under her eyes.

She let out a quiet sigh, running her fingers through the inch-long auburn curls on her head.

 _'Today has been a long day...'_ she thought to herself as she changed into pajamas, remembering how it started out with avoiding fury-propelled trash cans and ended with a bad taste in her mouth. Still, a soft chuckle escaped her lips at how nostalgic it all was. It's been quite a while since Thursdays were so exciting.

She exited the bathroom and snatched up her cell phone in her hands, eagerly hopping into her over-sized and _very_ comfortable bed. It was only after she buried herself under the comforter and pile of pillows that she opened her phone and checked for any messages. She was disappointed to not see any message or text or anything at all from Shizu! He couldn't even be bothered to message her?! _Oooooh_... Katsuko flipped through her contacts until she found the superhuman's name and she thought about calling to give him a real piece of her mind. Just so she could yell at that dummy for standing her up, of course. Not because she was slightly worried he might be bleeding out somewhere because he forgot he was stabbed or something, no, but because she was mad at him! Yes... that was it.

She looked at the smiling picture of the blonde on the small screen, it was taken on their Field Trip to Okinawa in their third year of High School. Half the class had gone to the beach for their free day and it had been so much fun but then things, as usual, had gotten complicated once Shizuo and Izaya landed eyes on one another. But before the entire trip had gone to hell, Shinra had snapped a picture of Katsuko hauling the blonde superhuman out of the waters, both of them grinning like loons. Shizuo had his arm slung around her neck, hair was still dripping wet from the impromptu surfing lesson she tried to give. Turns out that Shizu didn't float all that well. Izaya then tried to use that information and turned the beach into a war zone.

Her thumb hovered over the call button as she considered it. Would she? _Should_ she? She tried calling at least three different times already and he hadn't picked up by now, maybe he just didn't want to hear from her. Her chest tightened uncomfortably as she thought it back over. It... was midnight now and he was probably asleep, if anything. Yeah. He was probably asleep, she shouldn't bother him.

She backed out of the contacts and looked for a distraction, she found one in a chatroom she often visited. Seeing that everyone else was on lifted her spirits slightly. It didn't last. Katsuko eyes scanned down the chat log, frowning when she saw what they were talking about. At first they had been talking about the cheapest places to get takeout, but now...

 **TarouTanaka** : [The one who went missing is my classmate.]

 **TarouTanaka** : [To be exact, she's a friend of a friend...]

 **TarouTanaka** : [I've never even met her once.]

 **Setton** : [So, your friend's gone missing, TarouTanaka?]

 **Kanra** : [Speaking of that...]

 **Kanra** : [Lots of people have been disappearing recently...]

 **Kanra** : [Or at least there are a lot of rumors about missing persons]

 **Setton** : [Kanra, you're a gossip maniac.]

[ _Eriza Has Entered The Chatroom_ ]

 **Eriza** : [I agree wholeheartedly with Setton.]

 **Kanra** : [Erizaaaaaaaa! You're always so mean to me~]

 **Eriza** : [Hush, Kanra. What's this about a missing friend though? TarouTanaka?]

 **Kanra** : [Ah! Their friend went missing and I was just about to tell them about some of the stories I've been hearing!]

 **Kanra** : [The missing people I've been hearing about are mostly kids that ran away from home or illegal aliens.]

 **Kanra** : [By that I mean people who leave no trace once they disappear.]

 **Kanra** : [Tons of people like that are disappearing between Ikebukuro and Shibuya...]

 **Kanra** : [...and once they disappear they're never seen again.]

 **TarouTanaka** : [Is that true!?]

 **Eriza** : [Kanra...]

 **Kanra** : [There are some even scarier rumors, you know.]

 **Kanra** : [They suggest that the reason those people can't be found is because the Dollars dispose of the bodies somewhere and eat them!]

 **TarouTanaka** : [You can't be serious!)

 **TarouTanaka** : [Do the police know about this!? Are they investigating?!]

 **Eriza** : [You shouldn't give rumors much credit, TarouTanaka, there are a hundred like the one Kanra just said and each just as untrue as the next.]

 **Eriza** : [There aren't any cannibals running rampant in Ikebukuro. Promise.]

 **Kanra** : [Not that you know of~]

 **Eriza** : [Kanra, stop scaring them.]

 **Kanra** : [But I'm the one who's scared! What else do you think happens to all those missing people?]

 **Eriza** : [I honestly don't know what happened to them and I hope they're okay wherever they might be. I just know that weren't eaten by an internet gang.]

 **Eriza** : [I wonder if you actually hear these things or just make them up on the spot? Cannibalism, Kanra? Really?]

 **Setton** **:** [I'm leaning towards them making it all up.]

 **Eriza** : [Me, too.]

 **Kanra** **:** [So mean! ((´д`)) You two always gang up on me!]

 **Kanra** **:** [You won't be laughing if you end up getting eaten!]

 **Eriza** : [I promise, Kanra, if I get eaten by cannibals then I will acknowledge that you were right.]

 **Eriza** : [But until then?]

 **Eriza** : [You're a gossip maniac.]

 **Kanra** **:** [(ToT)]

 **TarouTanaka** : [Alright then, I'm going to say goodnight here. It's pretty late and I have class in the morning. Goodnight!]

 **Kanra** **:** [Bye-bye!]

 **Eriza** : [Night.]

 **Setton** **:** [Goodnight!]

[ _TarouTanaka Has Left The Chatroom_ ]

 **Setton** **:** [I'm going, too. Goodnight!]

[ _Setton Has Left The Chatroom_ ]

 **Kanra** **:** [Goodnight!]

 **Kanra** **:** [Oh. They already went.]

 **Kanra** **:** [What about you, Eriza?]

 **Kanra** **:** [Are you going to leave me here all alone too...?]

 **Eriza** : [Sleep well, Kanra.]

[ _Eriza Has Left The Chatroom_ ]

 **Kanra** **:** [Noooooooo!]

 **Kanra** **:** [Sigh... they all left me alone...]

 **Kanra** **:** [Oh, well... time to do something else I guess!]

[ _Kanra Has Left The Chatroom_ ]

 _[There Is No One In The Chatroom]_

* * *

 _ **Date: October, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

* * *

The first thing he noticed as he approached the front door to his house was the fact there was music playing, even from here he could faintly hear it from on the doorstep where he stood. That in itself wasn't so odd. He occasionally came home to find an obnoxious song by the hottest idol was playing before he had to yell at his siblings to turn it down so he could be able to think again. What _was_ odd however was that it was an American pop song playing. The Twins didn't understand a word of English. His curiosity was piqued. Cautiously, he opened the front door and took off his shoes, hearing the strumming of a guitar coming from further in. The singer of the band began and he heard a voice that stood out from the rest of the song. A feminine voice.

" _When it's over... that's the tiiime I fall in loooove again_ ~" she sang out. " _And when it's over, that's the time you're in my heeaaart aaagaaain!_ "

He smiled to himself as he was presented with this new mystery. Now he was fairly certain that old Miss Tsugi had no interest in American pop music and even if she had, she wouldn't be able to sing like the voice coming from further in his house. Without any concern that he might be stepping into the middle of a home invasion, the teen from Raishin Middle school followed the sound of the voice in hopes of finding it's source. He walked by the den, briefly glancing in and registering that the music was coming from there and had to stop himself in the hall at the scene. There, seated calmly at the low table, were his two younger siblings. Doing what appeared to be homework.

 _'Curiouser and curiouser...'_ he thought to himself as he observed the strange phenomena of the _Twins behaving themselves_. They were actually sitting _still_ and doing their _homework_! ...at least he thought so. They could've been drawing up plots to methodically string up their classmates one-by-one for all he knew. He inwardly hoped they were doing it in crayon. It would make it that much funnier when the police present it as evidence to the court. Setting that amusing image aside, the teen walked further into the modest house, continuing his pursuit of the foreign voice. Perhaps the voice was the reason behind this strange behavior from his siblings?

He made sure to make no noise as he stepped down the hall and stopped in the archway leading into the kitchen, a curious expression appeared on his face as he peered at the girl with an auburn braid standing over the oven. The teenager crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wooden archway, casually observing the girl cooking dinner in his kitchen. She looked to be around his age, maybe a year or so difference. The aroma of the food filled his nose and he approved, it actually smelled appetizing. She was dressed in a frilly apron he wasn't entirely sure his Mother owned seeing as how she was never in the country in recent months. He wondered just when old Miss Tsugi decided to hire another fill-in, and why she didn't think to mention it to him that a total stranger was going to be wandering his house with essentially free-range? At least her singing voice didn't make him want to stick a fork in his ears. And if _she_ was the one who got the Twins to obey then she was already far more effective than old Miss Tsugi with her scowls and naughty drinking habits.

The girl began to sway her hips in time with the music, causing the teen to arch an brow at the display. So the stranger wasn't _shy_ , he thought with mild amusement. Then again, she probably hadn't noticed his presence yet.

" _And when you go, go, go, gooo... I know, it never ends... never ends. All the things that I used to say! All the things that got in the way... All the things that I used to know have gone out the window~_ " She continued to sing, completely oblivious to him. As the song began to die down and her unintentional performance ended the teen thought it was finally time to introduce himself to the singing stranger in his kitchen. He reached out a hand with the intention of tapping her shoulder to get her attention and... well, to be honest, he was still trying to puzzle together what happened after that.

Before he could reach the girl, she had turned and saw him out of the corner of her eye. The girl's teal eyes widened to the point he was convinced they were going to fall out of her head. Before he had a chance to utter a single syllable, her instincts had kicked in and she had suddenly spun around, grabbed his arm and he felt a brief moment of weightlessness as she turned and pulled his body over her shoulder, throwing him. To say he'd been surprised was an understatement. He landed on his back against the linoleum tiles and before he could catch his breath or even process what the hell had just happened, the girl had been on top of him. She placed her knee square into his chest and leaned on it, making it hard for him to breath as she pinned his wrists above his head with one hand and reared the other one back, ready to strike.

She had moved quickly and without hesitation. He would honestly have been more impressed if he wasn't the one that was currently being restrained.

"Who are you and why are you here." demanded a calm and collected voice, teal eyes hard. It might have had a little to do with the throw but the teen's head was spinning with her 180 in personality. Just a few seconds ago she was singing the words to a love song and now she was treating him as if _he_ was the home invader.

Izaya huffed a short, breathless laugh as he looked up into the seafoam-green eyes of the girl sitting on his chest, still a bit dazed from his unexpected flight. Then he _grinned_ at the auburn-haired girl, causing her to stiffen and freeze, oddly caught by the sight of it.

"Well, _that_ was unexpected..." he breathed. Or wheezed more like. She frowned down at him, tightening her hold on his wrists causing him to wince slightly as his smile disappeared. "Hey, hey—okay, I _live_ here! Alright?"

"You... _live_... here?" Katsuko repeated slowly, processing what that meant. If he lived here then... then that would mean that this boy was... the Twins' older brother! _Izzy_! " _Oh my Goodness_!" she gasped in English, gently releasing her hold on him and getting off of his chest. He eagerly replaced the air that she had so smoothly stolen with her attack.

He was still lying there, on the kitchen floor as Katsuko began to fluster over her mistake. The first time she meets Mairu and Kururi's brother _and she chucks him over her shoulder_! She really wanted nothing more in that moment than for the earth to open up and swallow her whole. She couldn't believe—no. She totally could. This was _exactly_ the type of thing she would do!

"Ohhh... I-I am _SO_ sorry, Izzy-san!" she cried, face reddening with mortification. Izaya paused in the middle of pulling himself off the floor, frowning. What have those sisters of his been telling her? They didn't even tell her his full name? Out of the corner of his eye he caught a hand stretched out towards him. He looked back up into the fretting face of the girl who'd just assaulted him and let out an amused huff at the gesture, taking her hand in his so that she could pull him back to his feet.

They finally stood face-to-face, able to take in one another's appearances. Bright and nervous blue-green eyes that were set into sun-kissed skin and a pleasantly shaped face, her rosy lips were pressed together in anxiety. She had her unruly auburn hair tied into a braid that hung off one shoulder, her fringe was messy and parted unevenly to the side, willful curls sprang away from her braid at every chance. Her clothing was plain and simple; a sleeveless white shirt and light-blue Jean shorts under that frilled pink-checkered apron, a smattering of light freckles could be seen on her bare shoulders. Izaya thought that she dressed like she was living on a beach instead of in the middle of a bustling city. His eye was caught on the silver cross that hung on the chain around her neck, just for a moment.

They both seemed to be oblivious to the fact he was still holding her hand in his.

His brown eyes were curious as they were sharp, his skin smooth and Katsuko idly thought that he looked rather like his sisters. A bit. Well, he was obviously not a girl but Katsuko was really not so used to looking at a boy who was so... _pretty_ was the only word that came to her mind in that moment. Her face was still pretty warm from her embarrassment and she hoped that he wouldn't notice if it got a bit redder. He was still wearing a school uniform from what Katsuko could guess, black dress pants and a black blazer left unbuttoned, revealing the red undershirt he had on. His hair was a few shades darker than Mairu's or Kururi's and looked smoother even though it was still pretty mussed up from when she threw him. The easy smile he kept on his face belied most of the worry inside of her chest but she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity about the boy. In fact... Katsuko tilted her head, a thoughtful expression on her face as she began to scrutinize his features.

"Have we... met somewhere before?" she asked. At her question, Izaya's eyes narrowed slightly, as he too felt a sense of déjà vu. His eyes widened as he placed her, she _was—_

" _NOPE_!" a young voice suddenly interjected, startling them both. Katsuko's hand slipped out of Izaya's grasp as both of the Twins pulled their babysitter away and out of their brother's immediate reach. Mairu and Kururi were on either side of her now, small hands fisted into her tee and Jean shorts. Izaya's smile soured as his eyes landed on his younger sisters, annoyance flickering across his expression.

"Back off, Iza-nii! Katsuko-oneesan is _ours_!" Mairu snapped, scowling. Even Kururi was giving her elder brother a glare.

"...don't touch." she warned quietly, brown eyes narrowed.

Yep. Consider his mood officially ruined.

He crossed his arms over his chest and met both their dirty looks with an irritated one of his own. "Oh? I didn't realize Mom and Dad agreed to let you own your very own human being... last I checked you couldn't even keep a gerbil fed." he drawled sarcastically. Then he placed a finger on his lips and looked up thoughtfully, "I wonder whatever happened to poor Mr. Fuzz."

Both girls gasped, tightening their grips and squishing Katsuko even closer to them. Flicking an odd look at the boy across from her Katsuko patted the girl's backs, placating them and signaling to let go of their endearing hold. They both looked up at her with their wide, brown eyes. "All right girls, enough of that. Back to your homework, food is nearly ready. Call me if you need any help." she paused there, reconsidering. Then added, "Except if it's _History_ , I'm terrible at that! You shouldn't call me if it's that."

The Twins shared a look between them before resuming glaring at their brother. He kept his face in an expression of indifference. "What about _him_? We're not going anywhere if he isn't!" Mairu said, causing Katsuko to frown.

"Girls..." Katsuko said expectantly, giving them both a stern look. Their shoulder's slumped dejectedly, together they let go of their babysitter's clothing and slowly walked out of the kitchen and back into the den, sending Izaya warning looks that promised nothing good if he tried anything.

"I didn't think that it was actually possible..." Izaya murmured once his sisters were out of earshot. He hummed, walking around to the counter and taking a seat on a stool and placing his chin in his hand as he observed the stranger in his house.

With the Twin's back to their studies, Katsuko turned back to the lunch she had been preparing and spared the boy still in the kitchen a curious glance, not quite confident enough to start up a conversation. It was honestly a bit awkward on her side of things, seeing as how she tossed him like a surprised sack of rice just a few minutes prior. He didn't seem to share her hesitance as he continued to speak.

"I mean, I can't believe you _actually_ learned the secret to tame those two! I'd lost all hope for that years ago..." he shook his head with a dramatic sigh. "Poor old Mrs. Tsugi really doesn't get paid enough to deal with them on a regular basis."

Teal eyes glanced towards the dark-haired boy again, this time with a touch of confusion. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

He hummed distractedly, eyeing the sauce she was seasoning. It smelt good. "Hm? Oh, because those two are just too unlovable!"

Katsuko frowned.

What did he mean by ' _unlovable_ '?

"What do you mean by ' _unlovable_ '?" she blurted, her tone defensive.

And just like that, his focus was back on her. Observant brown eye watching her curious reaction as a smile played on his lips, "I mean what I said; that they are wholly unlovable. Completely and totally. And I should know, I've known them since they were born and have yet to find a redeemable or even _genuine_ quality about either of them."

"How could you say that!?" she demanded, affronted by the idea that he could say that. "They're your little sisters!"

"They're manipulative deviants!" he countered, amused and intrigued by her indignation. "Personally, I'm no saint myself but at least I don't pretend to be something I'm not: _Innocent_."

"Mairu and Kururi are _good girls_." she insisted.

Izaya barked a short laugh, "In what world?!"

" _This one_!" she snapped, cheeks going red with anger.

Izaya was still smiling, nearly grinning now, absolutely baffled by her insistence on this point. Who _was_ this strange girl? He wondered how far she would argue with him on this? He leaned forward over the counter. How would she feel about them if she knew _why_ they were the way they were? Why it seemed like they were two halves of a single, _whole_ person?

He wondered what kind of reaction she would make to that?

He shook his head at her, grinning. "You're _naïve_."

Something snapped inside of Katsuko.

Her face smoothed out and she marched around the counter to stand in front of him, he straightened up from the counter to watch with unabashed curiosity, wondering what it was she would do this time? If she reached for him again he would have to decide to watch her from a safer distance. As interesting an experience being thrown was, he'd rather not do it again so soon. Whatever he had been expecting, it had definitely _not_ been to jab a wooden spoon into his chest with a firm scowl pulling down her lips. He looked down at the utensil in surprise, his smile slipping off his face for a moment.

"I am _not_ naïve, _or_ weak, or ' _soft_ ', _OR_ am I a PUSHOVER! _AND—_ And... Kururi and Mairu are _totally_ _lovable_!" she said fiercely, punctuating each word with a jab of the spoon.

There was a moment of silence as Izaya absorbed all that she said.

Then he had laughed in her face.

 _Laughed_.

She stared at him in bewilderment, anger evaporating like mist from a crashed wave. It was a long and strange laugh, unrestrained and full of blatant enjoyment. One might think that she had just told him the funniest joke in the world. He couldn't hold it in even if he tried! _Lovable_ , she said! Never has he heard someone other than his Mother call the Twins _that_! This girl was certainly full of surprises! Katsuko felt her face heat up and go red with embarrassment as he continued to laugh in her face, causing her to scowl further. Too bad for her it looked very much like she was pouting.

Soon, his laughter died down into merry chuckles and Izaya grinned widely at the auburn-haired girl, his brown eyes seeming to dance with mirth. " _Ohhh_... I think I'm going to like you!" he declared.

Even though he said those (usually) friendly words with a smile and a cheerful tone, Katsuko couldn't help but feel a sense of unease wash over her. She returned his smile stiffly, trying to act as she normally would. It was harder than usual for some reason. Katsuko couldn't help but think that she's never met someone quite like him before, and she's met some pretty strange people already. Still, she couldn't deny the odd twisting in her stomach as he looked at her like that.

She held out her hand for him to shake, an invitation. A truce, maybe? Definitely a long overdue introduction.

"My name is Sharaku Katsuko, I'm sorry for throwing you."

He took her hand in his without hesitation, still grinning. Yes, he can tell even now that she was going to be lots of fun to play with.

"Orihara Izaya. I look forward to the chance of getting to know you better, Miss Sharaku!"

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen: "Unlovable"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: IZZZZZAAAAAAYYYAAAAAAA! It happened! It happened! It FINALLY happened! This is the longest chapter in quite a while but I think it was worth it for Izaya. Sooooo? Did it live up to your guys' expectations? How was it!? Tell meeeeee!**

 **...okay, it's late. I'm tired.**

 **Thank you DannyPhantom619, Momochan77 and ClosetCase! It's great talking to you! And thank you Guest! I hope you liked the chapter!**

 **(Oh, by the way, I made more art of Kat. This time with the Twins huggin' on their babysitter. It's on my Deviantart page** _MissNanamiChan_ **)**

 **I love, love, LOVE you all! See you next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	17. Valentines Day Special, For You

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga "**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Valentines Day Special: "For You"**

 _"Don't change so someone will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you."_

* * *

 _ **Date: February, 2002**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

 _ **Tuesday, the 12th**_

* * *

"Kuru-neeeee!" Mairu whined in a whisper, tugging insistently on her sister's dress. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Ask her! Ask her! Ask _heeeeer_!"

Katsuko turned away from her own homework to glance over at the twin six-year-olds hiding around the corner with a frown. She wondered what on earther they could be talking about. They knew that they could ask her anything, right?

A thought occurred to the auburn-haired teen.

"You guys can ask me anything you want, you know." she said encouragingly. Then she remembered all the progress she'd made on not being a push-over and added, "— _within reason_ , of course!"

It was all the encouragement that Mairu needed to shove her beloved sister out in front of their babysitter. Kururi stumbled slightly and shot her other half a baleful look but when she turned back to Katsuko again, she drew in on herself. The short-haired girl toyed with the end of her sleeves and spoke so quietly that Katsuko nearly hadn't heard her.

Nearly.

However, a blinding grin split Katsuko's face as she heard the question she's been waiting to hear _anyone_ ask for the last four years!

"...can you help make homemade chocolates?"

* * *

 _ **Date: February, 2002**_

 _ **Thursday, the 14th**_

* * *

Izaya looked down at the misshapen chocolate heart with varying amounts of apathy and morbid curiosity. It was about the size of his palm and had his name messily spelt in frosting in the middle. His brown eyes glanced up at the two little girls dressed in heart-dotted, frilly, white and red dresses. Perfectly themed for the day. They were both looking up at him with wide, expectant, doe eyes.

"Happy Valentines!" shrieked Mairu, looking ridiculously proud of... whatever that was on the table. Kururi didn't say anything but she kept her nervous eyes trained on his reaction. Izaya prodded at the offering warily, almost as if he expected it to bite him. He scrunched his nose up at it in distaste. It was probably poisoned, he figured. Or filled with a fast-acting laxative, that was a more likely scenario, considering _whom_ had made it.

Plus, he didn't even like sweets!

Izaya pushed the plate away and headed over to the hallway closet, noting how both their faces fell with disappointment as he did. He opened the door and reached past the hanging coats and looped his fingers through the handles of two small bags. "Here," he said, carelessly tossing them towards the new seven-year-olds. Mairu and Kururi caught them easily, moving aside the gift paper and peering into the colorful bags with extreme curiosity. Izaya grabbed a coat and began to head towards the front door, smirking at the Twin's dumbfounded expressions as they stared into the bags. " _Try_ not to maim anyone. At least not too badly, and... don't bother me for the rest of the week, huh? That would be nice."

"NUNCHUKS!" Mairu screamed with glee. Izaya also heard the telltale clicking and snapping of Kururi's new Taser charging up as he slipped into his shoes. He glanced over his shoulder and saw pale blue light sparkled in front of the little girl's face and she looked up at her older brother with a small, happy smile.

"Thank you, Iza-nii..." she said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah! Thanks for the gifts, Iza-nii! You're not such a crappy brother after all!" Mairu blurted, already attempting to use her new weapon.

Izaya's smirk turned into an annoyed scowl as he looked back at his sisters. "Don't make assumptions, dummies. They're from Mom and Dad, not me." he corrected, twisting the knob of the door. He paused before leaving, "They also said to tell you ' _Happy Birthday_ '."

He couldn't get out the door faster than it took the Twins to close the distance and latch onto him with a Double Hug.

" _Me muff you, Iffa-fee_!" Mairu said into his jacket, words muffled.

Kururi nodded with her sister, her head in his side. "...mm!"

Izaya rolled his eyes at the children and began the process of untangling twenty grubby fingers from his shirt.

"Yeah, yeah..." he sighed.

* * *

Shizuo stared at the prettily decorated chocolate-flavored choking hazard with equal amounts of trepidation and resignation. He then looked at the bubbly and excited Kat sitting across from him on the rooftop. He knew this day was coming, it was that time of year again.

"Happy Valentines Day, Shizu! Look, I made you some chocolate! The Twins even helped! It was their idea to write on it!" she informed him happily.

And look, there it was. His name written in frosting right next to what he hoped was chocolate chips. Shizuo held in a sigh. Kat could do a lot of things. Hell, she was _good_ at a lot of things. School, fighting, anything she really put her mind to, she was usually able to accomplish. So it's still a bit of a mystery to the blonde superhuman how, for the life of her, Kat _could not_ bake. Oh, she could cook. Kat cooked all the time for her family, the Twins (apparently), and she even cooked the too-large bento that the two of them were still sharing at this very moment. It's just that whenever she tries to make some kind of dessert or treat, it ends up turning into... into... something like he was now being giving. It was borderline inedible. In fact, it would probably be better if it _had_ been inedible, then he wouldn't have to put up with the horrible taste. Last year, she had presented Tom-senpai with some Friendship chocolates for Valentine's as well. He'd taken one look at the coal-like offerings and looked Kat in her eyes and lied to her face, saying he was allergic to chocolates altogether. Shizuo hadn't held it against him, it was probably the safest choice. He was honestly tempted to so the same.

But, Kat had made the chocolate for _him_ , so...

...he was gonna need a lot of milk to swallow this down.

He accepted her gift with a short ' _thank you_ ' and disposed of the wrapping. Briefly, he considered not eating it or at least pretending to, then he took one glance at the all-too-happy and trusting look on Kat's face and he sighed. It was as Shizuo took his first, large bite that he noted the distinct lack of charcoal-taste this time even though it had still been like biting into granite. It was still better than last year's attempt, Kat's baking skills were improving so there was that at least. It was on his second and final bite that Shizuo was fairly certain that if anyone else would've eaten it, Kat's gift would've killed them. Or at least would've caused serious internal damage.

Kat's resulting grin as he finished eating made the tingling aftertaste in his mouth nothing but an afterthought.

In this _one_ instance, Shizuo mused to himself, it turned out being a good thing that he wasn't a normal person.

* * *

 **Valentines Day Special: "For You"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, this is NOT the actual chapter, I promise to finish the actual chapter soon, but I'm posting this short little clip of the chapter because I'm** _ **pretty sure**_ **I won't be able to finish it before Valentines. I just really needed to get this part out before and not, like, two days** _ **after**_ **Valentines. That would've been lame.**

 **This little Special is unedited at the moment, so sorry if there's any errors. I'm literally about to pass out. I've been up** _ **waaaay**_ **too late.**

 **Happy Valentines Day, my luvs! _Mwah_ ~**

 _-Nanami_


	18. Chapter Sixteen, The Brother

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen: "The Brother"**

 _"Don't ever mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance, my kindness for weakness."_

* * *

 _ **Date: November, 2001**_

 _ **(9 Years Ago)**_

 _ **Tuesday**_

* * *

Katsuko honestly didn't know what to make of him. The Twin's brother, Izzy. (That was his name, right? Iz- _something_. She was so embarrassed she'd forgotten it already! Such an airhead! She was sixteen-years-old—she shouldn't be having this much trouble with names! Especially when he introduced himself! Now, she just didn't have the courage to ask again) In the weeks before they'd met, Katsuko had been able to babysit at the Orihara household without even catching a glimpse of the other teen, but ever since their encounter in the kitchen it seemed as if he was always around the house whenever she came around. Much to the displeasure of the Twins. Thankfully, Katsuko was spared any overly awkward moments alone with the oldest of the Orihara children because one or both of the girl's were always present in the room. To Katsuko's relief and Izaya's continued annoyance.

Like now, for instance.

Katsuko was helping Kururi with some homework in the dining room of the Orihara household when Izaya had happened upon that scene and, not having anything more pressing to do, decided to insert himself into their little bubble. He sat on the opposite side of the table as the two girls and leaned forward on the surface, placing his head in his hand as he lazily dragged his eyes over the paper. It was vocabulary homework.

"So why do you spend so much of your free time here, Miss Babysitter?" he asked lightly, earning a curious glance from the auburn-haired girl. "Surely you have other people you'd rather be spending it with."

"I like babysitting the Twins. They're sweet and I like being around them." the teen answered with a smile, glancing back down at the paper on the table. "Ah, Kururi, you need to add a stroke here to give it the proper meaning." she corrected gently, probably a bit too proud of the fact her vocabulary was only slightly better than a six-year-old's.

Izaya snorted a laugh at her reply, "That's like saying you that like getting a root canal. What are you, a masochist?" he asked flippantly, all but laughing outright at her now. Really, the girl had to be some sort of glutton for punishment if she _liked_ being around his siblings. _Izaya_ didn't even like his siblings and he was almost certain that the Twins shared his indifference. In fact, just last week he caught Mairu trying to put wall tacks in his sock drawer. _Again_.

Katsuko tilted her head at him, brow pinching together in confusion. "' _Masochist_ '?" she repeated curiously, completely unaware of what the word meant. She believed she'd heard the word once before when Mimi had called Eijirou that and it had set him off on a tantrum, a violent one. But when Katsuko had asked what that word had meant, Eiichirou had smacked both of his younger siblings upside their heads and demanded that they not ' _taint_ ' her. To this day she didn't understand what it meant. Maybe she should just ask Shizu the next time she sees him?

Izaya's eyes _shined_ with amusement as he realized it, too. "You have no idea what that means, do you? HA! You really are— _Ow_!" he yelped suddenly, wincing at the new pain radiating from his shin.

Izaya's eyes narrowed into a glare at the six-year-old present.

Katsuko gave him an odd look, oblivious to what just transpired under the table.

Kururi was still writing as if nothing happened, the picture of innocence.

* * *

 _ **Date: November, 2001**_

 _ **Saturday**_

* * *

Katsuko was sitting on the couch in the den of the Orihara house, reading a book for a class assignment with her trusty ' _Katakana to English_ ' dictionary present as she waited on the Twins to come down from their room so they could go out for a _'day of play_ ', as Mairu put it. She had been so wrapped up in her reading that she failed to notice the eldest Orihara sibling slide into the seat beside her.

"Hello again, Miss Babysitter!" he said cheerfully, noting the subtle signs of surprise that flitted across her person. How her eyes widened minutely and her grip tightened on the book in her hands. Unbeknownst to Izaya, Katsuko had just resisted the trained instinct that demanded she throat-chop the sudden intruder. He should really stop startling her like that, she might actually hurt him one of these days. And, somehow, she really didn't think that he'd appreciate being attacked by her _again_.

She lifted her teal eyes to meet his, giving him a friendly smile. "Hello to you, too, Orihara-san."

He tilted his head, looking at her with open curiosity. "You're American, right?" she nodded, wondering if it was that obvious about her even after all this time. Shizuo had said her accent wasn't nearly as noticeable as when they first met. "So suffix's must be strange to you, that's why you don't add on a ' _chan_ ' to Mairu and Kururi's names. If it makes you more comfortable, you can call me by my first name, too. No suffix necessary."

Katsuko blinked at the surprisingly friendly offer. Now she _really_ wished she wasn't such a dolt and could remember what his name was exactly! He was waiting for her reply and she tried not to look too guilty.

"Thank you! You can call me by my first name, too, ah..." she trailed off, sweating nervously. She was saved from the embarrassing moment by the sound of a pair of small feet hurriedly coming down the stairs.

Mairu jumped the last step and landed loudly at the base of the stairs, her arms shot up and her ponytail bounced as she shouted; " _FIRST_! I'm ready to _goooo_ , Katsuko-onnesan! Kuru-nee said she'll be ready in— _IZA-NII! WHAT'RE YOU DOING TO KATSUKO-ONEESAN_!?"

Both the teens startled at Mairu's sudden outburst, but it was Izaya who figured out the reason for it first. When he sat down on the couch he had thoughtlessly placed his arm over the back of it in an attempt to sit comfortably, coincidentally placing his arm behind his sister's favorite babysitter. A smirk slowly stretched across his lips.

He blinked innocently at his younger sister, angling his body slightly closer towards an oblivious Katsuko and Mairu scowled. "What do you mean, imouto? Katsuko-chan and I were just talking."

Mairu narrowed her brown eyes at her older brother and adjusted her glasses. Her mind made up, she bounced over to the couch and grabbed Katsuko's hand in her smaller one, looking up into the older girl's seafoam-green orbs. "Katsuko-oneesan," Mairu started sweetly, fluttering her eyes. Izaya's nose scrunched up in distaste at the act. "I've always _looooved_ your hair, do'ya think you can braid my hair just like yours?"

Izaya felt physically ill after that display of _blatant_ manipulation. Did his sister really think she was being clever? He doubted that anyone—

"I would _love_ to!" Katsuko gushed, eyes sparkling.

Izaya blinked, turning his eyes back to the girl who had a wobbly and wide smile on her face. She just looked so _touched_. it was around now that the dark-haired boy was starting to seriously wonder if this girl was really so gullible or if she was putting up an act herself, because he just didn't understand how someone could get to be her age yet still remain so... _so_...

 _Pure_ , was a nice word.

As Mairu began to lead the other girl back upstairs, Izaya did not imagine the decidedly _impure_ and downright impish grin his sister wore on her smug little face.

* * *

 _ **Date: January, 2002**_

 _ **Monday**_

* * *

Katsuko generally wasn't one to easily panic or even someone who was quick to anger. She was usually a very calm and harmonious individual who kept a near-neurotic hold on her temper, the same hot-blooded and often times physically violent temper that she shared with her blood relations. That being said, nothing could have prevented how her heart just _dropped_ into her stomach when she read the message on the black little pager she was given a couple months earlier.

119 KURURI HURT HOME HELP

In the next second she had dropped the tests she'd been delivering to another class, scattering the papers across the hall floor, and sprinted towards the doors of the middle school and onto the sidewalk. She prayed to God under her breath that she'd make it there in time as she ran through the midday crowds, bumping into more than a few people and spouting hurried apologies as she kept running. Katsuko decided against waiting for any sort of transportation as the Orihara residence was within running distance, only a dozen or so city blocks away. Her heart was pounding in her chest from exercise as much as it was fear when she came up on the door, swinging her arm up to begin pounding on the hardwood.

"Mairu, Kururi! It's Katsuko, are you guys there!?" she shouted, desperately pleading that they both were alright and that Mairu was just exaggerating. _'Please, let Mairu be overreacting.'_ she prayed.

After the longest minute in Katsuko's young life the door opened to reveal a mildly surprised Izaya. He raised one eyebrow as he took in her flustered appearance, "Well, you got here—" she brushed past him and into the house after she ascertained that he was not hurt, her eyes searching for any sign of the two six-year-old's in question. With fleeting footsteps she walked through the hallway, ducking her head into the den briefly before making her way upstairs towards the Twin's room. Bracing herself for the worst, she burst through the door and—

...and she saw _nothing_. The half-pink half-purple room was just as she saw it a couple days before and completely bare of any injured little girls. Panting, tired, _confused_ , Katsuko turned around to see Izaya nonchalantly leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked _far_ too relaxed than he should've been.

"I don't—Where are the Twins?" she panted, running her hand through her bangs and giving the room another once-over.

"At school." he answered simply. He tilted his head, brown eyes scrutinizing her from her disorganized uniform to her flushed cheeks. "Did you really _run_ all the way here?

Katsuko's brow furrowed, a frown pulling on her lips as she stared at him. She didn't understand. What was he talking about? She weakly shook her head, "I don't—"

"You made better time here than I had guessed." he mused aloud, interrupting her. "Did you _cut class_? How bold! And here I pegged you as a honor student."

His eyes watched her intently and he was able to witness the _exact moment_ it finally dawned on her.

Slowly, she lifted a finger to point at him.

"...you?" she breathed.

His smile widened.

"Mmhm," he confirmed.

Her mouth was opening and closing repeatedly, like she was a fish. Her cheeks flushing a darker red and Izaya waited to see what she would do next.

" _You_ —" she repeated. More passionately, too.

"Me!" he said, all too happy to egg her on a bit more.

This moment was one of those _incredibly_ rare times in Katsuko's life where she let her carefully maintained control... _slip_.

"— _Y_ _ou_ _asshole_!" she snapped, so caught up in emotion that she'd forgotten to curse in Japanese so he'd understand her. He still did, his eyes widened briefly in shock before he became even more interested in this turn of events.

 _'Uh-oh.'_ he thought playfully, keeping an infuriating smile on his face. _'She knows a naughty word. Her purity is officially in question.'_

Katsuko was fuming mad about now, still panting from her run and now from the adrenaline high she was on, her face was nearly as red as her hair from sheer _anger_. She marched up to Izaya and glared heatedly at the unrepentant boy, her teal eyes were practically _blazing_ with so many emotions she was going through right now. "How _dare_ you do something like this!" she shouted at him. "Do you have _any idea_ how worried I was?! What kind of person would do this to another person!? I thought that Kururi was actually _hurt_ —why on _earth_ would you do something like this!?"

"I wanted to see if you'd actually come." he confessed.

Again, for the second time that day, he had dumbfounded her.

" _What_." she demanded, voice curt.

He shrugged one shoulder at her look of disbelief, uncaring of how the dismissive action angered the girl in front of him even further. He was actually enjoying getting to see this side of this always so carefully polite Human. It was like he was getting a glimpse at the _real_ Katsuko.

"I wanted to know that if there had been a _real_ emergency you would have come." he explained patiently. To his amusement, she had actually looked _annoyed_ by his perfectly reasonable answer!

"Who _wouldn't_?!" she cried, throwing out her arms in exasperation. She was completely flabbergasted by the very idea that someone _wouldn't show up_.

Izaya laughed, "You'd be surprised."

She stared at him and his smile in bewilderment, her heartbeat finally calming down. It had been at that moment that Katsuko had decided.

She did _not_ like the Twin's brother.

* * *

 _ **Date: January, 2002**_

 _ **Monday (Later That Same Day)**_

* * *

"He's _mean_!" Kat huffed, kicking her foot in frustration as her mind supplied insults to... nobody in particular. _'Stupid ground, stupid shoe, and STUPID BOY!'_

She kicked at the ground again, failing to rid herself of her frustration. Beside her, Shizuo, also a boy, nodded to show that he was still listening. "The brother again?" he asked.

"Yeah! He's a _jerk_! Can you believe that he faked an emergency!? I even ran out of school because of it! I mean, who _does_ that!?" she vented freely, scowling at the ground. "He's just the _worst_!"

Shizuo frowned, he didn't like that fact that someone had gotten Kat so worked up. He rarely ever saw her get upset; it was starting to piss _him_ off. He wanted to punch something. Hazel eyes glanced over at her, "Yeah? What did you say his name was, again?"

Kat blinked, her anger temporarily vanishing.

"It's... ah... uhm..." she stammered and trailed off, her brow pinching concentration. Shizuo _knew_ that look. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile and he looked over at her.

"You don't remember." he accused, amusement clear on his face. Happy to be reminded once again that it wasn't just his name that she got wrong. Kat was instantly on the defensive and Shizuo knew he was right.

"No!" she denied, after a moment her eyes darted away sheepishly and she began to babble. " _Well_... it not my fault! I've only heard it _once_ and as often as Mairu and Kururi call him ' _Iza-nii_ ' they also refer to him as ' _Uzai_ ' which—"

Shizuo laughed suddenly, causing her to crack a small, reluctant smile as well. She wished he would laugh more, it was a nice sound. "Kat, you know what that word means, don't you?" he asked too happily. He was starting to like these girls Kat goes on so much about, he knew there had to be a reason why she spent so much time with them lately.

She puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms, glaring up at the sky as if it was responsible for making her miss a math test. " _Yeah_ , I do! It means _annoying_! As in; their brother is _annoying_!"

Shizuo was still chuckling as he reached over to gently tug on the end of her braid, making her pay attention to where she was walking and saving her from colliding into a bench. "Well, at least you know what kind of guy he is now. You won't fall for his tricks again, right?"

Kat nodded confidently, so very sure of that herself.

"Right!"

* * *

 _ **Date: January, 2002**_

 _ **Monday (Even Later That Day)**_

* * *

Katsuko's body was rigid and stiff as she sat in a perfect seiza, her eyes lowered to the tatami mats of her Father's office. There was a pit of anxiety in her stomach as she waited for him to speak. She already knew what this was about, she was _never_ allowed into his office unless (outside of bringing breakfast and dinner) there was something wrong. She had aced all her latest exams, fulfilled all her duties in her various after-school clubs, she hadn't had any problems teaching the girl's Judo class at the Gym, the only thing that this could've been about was—

"I was in the middle of teaching a class when I was interrupted by a call from your teacher, asking after your whereabouts." Sharaku Eiichi said impassively, pen scrawling across the papers on the low table. "He mentioned that because you were usually such a good student, he wondered if you had a family emergency that would explain your absence."

She lowered her head, pressing her lips into a firm line to stop herself from blurting out an explanation for what happened. It didn't matter that she really had thought that it was an emergency, it hadn't been. It would only serve to prove that she displayed poor judgement. To him, it would only be her trying to make excuses and if there was one thing she knew about her Father, it was that he _hated_ excuses.

"What do you have to say for your actions?" he asked calmly.

"...there is no excuse. I acted irresponsibly." she answered, voice soft. She kept her head lowered, not daring to meet his eye. "It won't happen again, Chichiue."

Silence. The only sounds in the room being his pen scratching against the paper and the very loud heartbeat in her ears. Eventually, the pen stopped and she heard him sigh softly.

"...I thought that your Mother had taught you better than to cause trouble for others."

Her heart _thudded_ painfully against her chest. His disappointment hurt so much more than his anger _ever_ could.

"I'll accept whatever punishment you give me, Chichiue." she said, throat tight.

"There is no need." he dismissed.

She inhaled sharply, a flare of panic rising in her. She finally lifted her eyes to search his face, finding him tiredly staring down at is folded hands. "Are you sure? Just say it and I'll do it! I promise! D-Do you want me to wash the floors? Or clean the Gym? Because I can—"

"No." he interjected quietly, but firmly. Katsuko's mouth clamped up and she watched him raise his hand and run it through hair that was so much like her own. She noted with pain how his eyes never lifted up to look at her even _once_.

"Just... leave me."

Katsuko lowered her head again, her hair falling down to hide her face. She felt as if her chest was about to _burst_ —she quickly bit in the inside of her cheek to get a rein on her emotions. It was with prickling legs that she got back to her feet and quietly left the room, sliding the door behind her without another word.

A part of Katsuko wished that he had punished her.

...maybe then he would've at least _looked_ at her.

* * *

 _ **Date: February, 2002**_

 _ **Tuesday, the 12th**_

* * *

"Oi, Katsu-nee, what do you think about this one?"

Katsu-nee turned to see Mikage holding up a yellow athletic shirt to her chest, giving it a considering look. Honestly, it could barely be called a shirt—it was more like a sports bra. Almost as if she could read her cousin's mind, Mikage's nose scrunched up.

"Too revealing?" she asked, already guessing the answer. Katsu-nee nodded and gave her an apologetic smile. Mikage clicked her tongue in disappointment and threw the clothing back into their growing pile. "Damn, I liked that color."

"It _is_ a nice color on you. Don't worry, I'm sure we can find something else." Katsuko said cheerfully, already scanning the racks for something that wouldn't cause Uncle Eiji to have a fit. The two girls then separated to find a suitable training outfit for her. As Mikage dully browsed the racks of stretchy clothing her mind began to wander. Though she wouldn't ever admit it aloud, Mikage was envious of her older cousin's decisiveness. Where Katsuko had already chosen and bought a new white and blue athletic outfit for training, Mikage still didn't know _what_ it was that she wanted.

She felt a unknown presence approach her from behind.

"Funny running into you here, Miss Babysitter!" drawled an unfamiliar voice. Mikage turned her head and—she felt as if someone just punched her in the solar plexus as she lost the ability to even _breathe_. For reasons she couldn't fully explain, her heartbeat picked up in speed and she began to stare at him. Intense, expressive brown eyes _blinked_ as he got a clear look at her face, at the pair of eyes he had not been expecting. Then they narrowed as he began to comb over her face.

"Well, you aren't Katsuko-chan." he realized—and wow, his _voice_. All of the boys in Mikage's class had pitchy awkward-sounding voices, but _his_... her train of thought abruptly stopped as his words finally registered.

 _'...did he just say Katsuko?'_

"Huh?" she uttered intelligently, her brow pinching together.

He _smirked_ and her heart _skipped_.

What the hell was happening to her?!

The boy in front of her then held up a pair up nunchuks in his hand and Mikage was now totally lost. "Say, do you think a violent little girl would like these?" he asked seriously.

The girl tore her eyes off the boy's face to look at the close-combat weapon dangling from his hand. She frowned as she appraised it, "The, ah, chain is too thin. It'd snap in no time at all."

His eyebrows raised and he looked at the weapon with consideration, after a moment he turned those intense brown eyes back to her and smiled in a way that had her chest constricting. "...is that so? Well! Thank you so much for telling me, Miss..." he trailed off and Mikage scrambled to remember what her name was. She didn't have to as that was the same moment that Katsuko had come back.

"Mimi~!" Oh _no_. Mikage closed her eyes tightly as she heard the sounds of her cousin lightly skipping over to them. "I couldn't find the _exact_ color, but I found a couple of other choices for you—" she made a startled, choking noise from the back of her throat and Mikage idly thought how _strange_ that sounded coming from Katsu-nee. Teal eyes widened as she, arms covered with clothing, lifted a hand to point an accusing finger at Izaya's smirking face. "You!"

"Oh, are we doing _this_ again?" he asked lightly, taking his intense gaze off of Mikage and looking towards Katsu-nee. She felt air fill her lungs again the second he did, but she still couldn't tear her own gaze off of him. "I was convinced you wouldn't talk to me ever again! It's already been a _whole_ month! And here I thought we were finally getting to really know one another!" he said despairingly, the smirk on his face betraying his forlorn voice.

Though Izaya suspected that wouldn't have been the case had they actually _seen_ one another in the last month. He still wasn't entirely certain how they found out, but after his little prank call the Twins had been increasingly careful about bringing their babysitter anywhere near the house when he was home. This chance encounter was the first time he'd seen her since she stormed out on him.

"I don't make friends with _jerk faces_!" Katsuko answered haughtily, narrowing her ocean eyes at the boy. He merely smiled in amusement at all her huffing and puffing. He'd already had gotten to see her when she was truly angry, so her words less than hurtful. It was more amusing to see her huff and puff like this if anything. His brown eyes drifted back to Mikage and she would swear that every thing and everyone else faded away in that moment.

"So who is _this_? I didn't know you had a sister, Katsuko-chan." the dark-haired boy observed, casually wrapping the nunchuks around the back of his neck as his eyes scrutinized Mikage's features again. She felt her face begin to heat up. "I'd thought that by the way you cling to mine so much, you were an only child."

Katsuko's huffed, literally this time, but her manners won out over the month-old grievance. With a roll of her ocean eyes she answered him. "This is my little cousin, Mim— _oomph_!" Katsuko was interrupted by a quick jab to the ribs, before she could utter out the childish nickname that Mikage _loathed_. Izaya's brow raised in surprise at the younger girl.

"Sharaku Mikage." the Mikage said as Katsuko coughed unattractively, unconsciously straightening up and holding her head up with a confidence she honestly didn't have in this moment. Inwardly though, she was a mess of nerves and she wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to keep her cool. She didn't understand what had suddenly come over her.

He dipped his head, brown eyes still on her. "Orihara Izaya. Nice to meet you, _Mikage-chan_."

 _Oh_.

Her heart had stopped at this point.

"Meeeeeaaaaan..." Katsuko wheezed, cutting into Mikage's daze. The older girl looked up at Mikage from her hunched over position with a pitiful look on her face, also completely failing to hear Izaya introduce himself. Typically. "Why are you so mean to me, Mimi...?"

Mikage was quick to strike the top of Katsuko's thick head in retaliation for using that _damned_ nickname in public. Izaya laughed brightly, finally understanding the dynamic of the cousins relationship. It seemed that Miss Babysitter really was a masochist! Hearing his laugh caused Katsuko to scowl at the boy, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff.

"What are you even doing here? This is the _Woman's_ section!" she demanded while Mikage went about picking up the clothing she had caused to drop to the ground when she attacked her cousin. It was only fair. "...and why do you have those?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at the nunchuks.

"I'm just browsing." he said simply, smirking insufferably. A mischievous glint appeared in his eye and he added, "Looking for something a little more _flattering_ for my figure."

Katsuko snorted a surprised laugh but quickly schooled her expression into one of annoyance. She was still miffed with him and he hadn't even said he was sorry for what he did! It was too late though, he'd seen her smile. Satisfied with this encounter and remembering his short timeline, Izaya turned and started walking out of the isle and back towards the sports equipment. Before he got out of earshot, he spoke over his shoulder. "The girl's wanted to ask you something by the way, I imagine they're still trying to figure out how at this moment. You should stop by the house before their little heads overload!"

* * *

 _ **Date: February, 2002**_

 _ **Tuesday, the 12th**_

 _ **(Several Hours Later)**_

* * *

Izaya had not been home more than five minutes before he realized he'd just stepped into a flour laden _war-zone_. Wide brown eyes followed the trail of white, dusty foot and hand prints from the entryway back into the kitchen where he found an equally floury-Katsuko attempting to clean the mess. Teal eyes looked up at his entrance and he was taken aback by the large grin that greeted him.

"Oh! Eheheh, heh, welcome home!" she exclaimed, shoving the rag behind her back. As if that hid the fact the rest of the kitchen was still a _complete mess_. Really now.

" _What_ did you do to the kitchen?" Izaya asked the flour-coated teen incredulously. She shifted nervously on her feet, tucking a lock of hair that had fallen out of her braid (that he was half certain had dried egg yolk on it) out of her face and behind her ear.

"We—uh, baked!"

"...baked what?"

Her smile widened and she _giggled_.

"It's a secret!" she announced cheerfully and Izaya's interest was predictably piqued. She took a couple of burnt pans off the stove top and placed them in the sink to begin scrubbing them and Izaya wondered just _what_ she could've cooked up with his devious sisters? He then took another look at the space around him. He frowned, thinking about it.

...maybe, just this one time, he didn't _want_ to know.

"So where are they?" he asked, referring to his siblings as he turned his back to her and walked over to the hall closet, stashing two small bags in the far back of it where they would be hidden for the next few days.

"They are cleaning themselves up in the bathroom." she answered. Izaya made note of avoiding the bathroom and turned back around to see her glancing over at him in curiosity, he smirked. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved an item before tossing it at the auburn-haired girl. Katsuko reflexes kicked in, she'd caught the flying object before she fully realized he'd thrown something. She looked down at her hand curiously to see a key, ocean eyes looked up at him in question.

"Congratulations!" he announced, walking back towards her. "You've been hired as the official Babysitter! No more part-time for you! No, from now on, you'll be the first call when the girls need something! The key is so if there _is_ a real-life emergency—like if one of them find something sharp to play with—then _you_ can deal with it!"

"W-What!" she squeaked, eyes going wide. "But—But what about Miss Tsugi?!"

"Mm? Oh, I fired her." he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"You did _what_?!"

He chuckled, pulling himself up to sit on the newly-cleaned countertop. "Don't fret, Miss Babysitter! She had been positively _elated_ when I told her she could finally quit. If you're wondering _how_ I did it, it was simple. I just told our parents that you were a good influence, kind, responsible, blah-blah-blah—but I think what _really_ sold it was when I told them the Twins actually _listened_ to you! They didn't need to hear anything else after that."

"Oh." she said quietly, surprised by his words. She stared at his face a moment, trying to determine whether or not he was being honest, before her eyes softened at him. Katsuko smiled bashfully at the boy, her cheeks dusting pink with gratitude. "...uhm, thank you! For saying that... I appreciate it."

Izaya gave her an odd look before chuckling as he slid back off the counter. "Don't _thank_ me. Those two have taken to you and now they're all _your_ problem." he said, waving his hand. He headed towards the exit and was about to leave, but her soft voice stopped him before he could leave.

"...they love you, you know?" he looked back at her in question, arching an eyebrow. Katsuko pursed her lips and continued to hold his gaze with her own. "The girls don't really express it often, but I know that they just want to spend more time with you... I know that they do."

Izaya stared at her, analyzing the girl's words in his head. After a moment he huffed, shaking his head softly at her earnest expression. He was sure that she actually believed that. It was just one more thing that made him believe that Sharaku Katsuko really was just that Pure.

* * *

 _ **Date: October, 2001**_

 _ **(5 Months Prior)**_

* * *

He lifted a hand to gingerly prod at his jaw and winced, regretting it. The swelling of his face aching almost as bad as the ribs he was sure were bruised if not fractured. He sighed aloud and it came out as more of a wheeze. He'd been too slow this time. Didn't move out of the way of that guy's fist fast enough to avoid getting a black eye, things quickly escalated after that when his mouth breathing friends had showed up. And to think, all of this pain was because he'd made one (totally true!) comment on how the guy's girlfriend was probably cheating on him with his brother. He thought that at the least seeing what kind of decisions the Humans would make after that would've been an entertaining little reprieve from his boring and never-ending supply of schoolwork. He really hadn't been expecting them both to turn on _him_. Maybe he should've? Ah, hindsight is 20/20 after all.

He leaned his head back against the stone wall, looking up at the sky and wondering how such a good day could've turned out like _this_?

 _Drip._

A droplet of water splat against his forehead, he narrowed his good eye at the grey skies looming over him. Really...?

 _Drip-drip._

Water began to shower his head in earnest, soaking his clothing. He smiled in resignation, only to stop when it pulled on his cut lip. He sighed miserably, hanging his head.

Yes, today was going _fabulously_.

He sat there for a couple minutes, trying to convince himself to get up at some point. The conversation wasn't going over well because _everything hurt so much_. He let out a pitiful groan as he noticed he was completely soaked at this point. He was distracted from his miserable predicament for a moment by a passerby stopping in front of him.

"Hey, you okay?" a voice asked over the downpour. He snorted a laugh at the question. Which— _Ow_. Laughing hurts, he wasn't going to do that again anytime soon. He genuinely wondered of he _looked_ like he was okay? He didn't have a mirror, but his guess was that his face was currently swelling with big, yellowing bruises about now and from the faint taste of copper on his lips, his nose had been busted as well. It certainly hurt like it'd been. Not to even mention the obvious fact he was sitting in the rain with drenched clothing.

Overall he was sure he looked like the _picture_ of health.

"What— _Oh_! You're really hurt!" the voice cried, leaning down closer. So they'd caught on, then? The owner of the voice crouched down in front of him and he saw a girl looking at him with a pair of worried, teal eyes, He noted with envy that she was wearing a jacket that protected her from the watery onslaught they were under. He also saw an odd hair color hanging out from under the hood, auburn, braided and long. She lifted a hand and made an aborted movement towards his face but obviously thought better of it, instead curling her fingers into a fist at her side.

"Do you need help?" she asked hesitantly. "I can take you to a hospital, or a clinic, or I can—"

He shook his head tiredly. There wasn't any point to that. He could still walk on his own power, _eventually_ he'd get off his ass and go have Shinra patch him up. The Doctor-to-be complained about not getting enough hands-on experience anyways.

He saw her frown, obviously not convinced. She flattened her lips into a firm line and remained squatted in front of him.

With his one good eye he stared back at her impassively, waiting for her to leave already. He was tired, battered, aching, bruised and _wet_. Did he mention how much pain he was in? He really didn't like being in pain.

Another voice shouted over the rain, drawing the girl's attention from him. "Oi, what are you doing over there, are you coming or what? We're gonna be late, Kat!"

She gasped, "Ah! Right—I'm coming, Shizu!" she stood up, leaving his limited field of vision.

Just as he thought she was going to leave, he felt a warm weight drape over his shoulders, stopping the rain from drenching his back any further. A furred hood fell over his eyes and he looked up in surprise. His eyes widened at the girl's smile. Rain began to pelt her now-uncovered head and she lifted a hand to peel away the dampened hair on her forehead, peering down at him with bright eyes.

"Listen, you should really see a doctor about those injuries! And get out of this rain, too! You don't want to catch a cold!" she told him over the steady beating of the downpour, turning away from him. She began walking backwards towards another figure, a blonde guy, who was waiting under an umbrella and looking their way. She waved goodbye, smiling. "Get yourself taken care of, m'kay?"

He watched her jog over to the guy, he said something that went unheard, she then looked down at herself and laughed in response. The guy shook his head and held the umbrella out towards her, she joined him out from under the rain. They continued to walk down the street, oblivious to the pair of brown eyes observing them disappear into the faceless crowd.

Izaya replayed the scene that just happened to him back in his mind and felt his lips curl up into a smile, not minding how the cut on his lip stung from the action.

A totally random girl just gave away the coat off her back to a complete stranger in the middle of a rain shower, without _any_ expectation of getting it back or repayment for her deed.

His Humans always managed to surprise him.

With effort and a small, miserable groan, he picked himself off the ground and adjusted the coat, sliding his arms through the sleeves easily. It fitted nicely, hugging his frame almost as if it was made for him. He noted with delight how warm the jacket still was in contrast to his damp skin. His fingers brushed against the faux fur lining the hood and his smile grew. With uplifted mood and a grin on his face he started limping in the direction of Shinra's apartment in search of the suggested medical assistance.

He really loved his strange, _wonderful_ Humans.

* * *

 **Chapter Sixteen: "The Brother"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N:** **YAY! I fixed (mostly) everything! I finally got some sleep and recharged and was able to go over this unusually long chapter. Really. I hadn't anticipated this chapter being so long, or, to write it in the first place! We were supposed to be on the first day of High School by now but... you know how I get. I went off on a spree on something completely unrelated and now we have SO MUCH MORE IZAYA! We didn't rehash the Valentines chapter but just saw the direct aftermath of the baking of said chaolates. And then Izaya met Mikage, _that_ came outta nowhere! Plus, _the Jacket_. That happened.**

 **Anyways, Thank You Momochan77 and DannyPhantom619 for reviewing! I always love hearing your thoughts! And Thank You ClosetCase for helping me out with this chapter, talking it out with you really helped flesh out this chapter! Also, you're partially to blame for the length of this.**

 **Alright guys, I wuv yew all!**

 _-Nanami_


	19. Chapter Seventeen, Everybody Talks

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen: "Everybody Talks"**

 _"Having a thousand friends isn't a miracle._

 _The miracle is to have a friend who will stand by you when thousands are against you."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

 _"Who is the strongest one in Ikebukuro?"_

That was the question being posed to the inhabitants of the city. For every person you ask, you would get three opinions. Really. The man asking the question couldn't blame them, the city they lived in seemed to hold no end to it's hidden wonders. Still, determined to discover the answer, he asked the question.

One would exclaim; _"It's that, that, that! It's the Black Rider!"_

Another would wonder; _"It has to be Simon, right? The big guy from Russia Sushi!"_

So many possibilities! With every new piece of information he gathered, every interview held, he felt an excitement begin to grow inside his chest. Invigorating him and making the man feel as if he was a young journalist again...

 _"Strongest? I think it's the guys from the Dollars!"_

 _"What about that information broker? Though, I think he moved to Shinjuku..."_

 _"Have you seen those people with the yellow scarves?"_

 _"It's the police! There's a officer named Kuzuhara there, he's so great!"_

The answer to his question?

 _"Well, I'll tell you... the 'Strongest in Ikebukuro' when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, it's Simon. But about everything else... It's Shizu-chan, I guess."_

Heiwajima Shizuo.

The more he'd heard about the man in the bartender's outfit, the less he could believe. Every story just seemed so surreal to his ears. Could a man _really_ be capable of tearing a vending machine, bolted to the ground, right from the sidewalk? The reporter had his doubts. Still, he couldn't deny the fact that at every turn in his investigation he was always warned to ' _Stay away from Heiwajima_ ' or to ' _Not get involved_ ' with the supposedly monstrous man. Beside learning of the man's habit to wear a bartender's uniform (even though he didn't work in a bar) and hearing about his violent exploits, a piece of information he often encountered when investigating Heiwajima Shizuo's background was about the identity of his rumored lover.

A woman often simply referred to as; The Waitress.

It was from that Orihara Izaya, the Information Broker located out of Shinjuku, that he'd first heard the woman's name mentioned.

 _"I don't really understand that guy myself, but if you're determined to learn more about Shizu-chan then your best bet is to ask Kitty-Kat. They've known each other for years. She is probably the only Human on earth who knows what kind of things go through his brain."_ the dark-haired man had revealed over his cup of tea, frowning slightly. _"I'd introduce you to her myself, but... heh... we're not really on good terms right now. I can tell you where to find her though. Tell me, do you like sweets?"_

The atmosphere around the _Peach Rose Café_ was as warm and welcoming as it always was, enticing the occasional passerby with it's generous selection of coffee's and snacks. In the past he's held interviews here exactly because of the relaxing environment. It was here, at her place of employment, that he found himself looking for a certain waitress who supposedly held the answers to his questions instead of visiting to enjoy an iced coffee. And there she was now, standing behind the wooden counter and rearranging the confections behind the display. The young woman was dressed in a loose fitting crème dress, small flower designs layered across it. She wearing a different wig today as well, he noted, it was cropped short and an eye-catching apple red. The reporter for the _Tokyo Disaster_ approached the counter and Sharaku Katsuko, The Waitress, greeted him with her usual friendly smile.

"Niekawa-san, Good Morning! Do you want your usual dark roast brew this morning, or are you here to meet someone?" she asked politely, already gesturing him towards an empty booth by the window. Shuuji attempted to mirror her polite smile and nodded, still having a hard time believing that this mild-mannered woman was somehow connected to the infamous and destructive Heiwajima.

"Ah, yes to both. I'm hoping to hold another interview for my article." he admitted, following her lead after giving his order to another waiter. It was after he was seated in the booth that he asked, albeit a tad more hesitant than usual. "If... _you_ wouldn't mind answering a couple of my questions today, Sharaku-san?"

She had blinked those large teal eyes at him, obviously surprised, and pointed the pen in her hand at herself. " _Me_?" she asked with a hint of incredulity in her voice. He merely nodded and she composed herself. "Uhm, what about? I-I mean—Sure! I'd be happy to help out however I can, but... Listen, I have a break coming up in an hour. If you don't mind waiting, you can tell me what your article is about then?"

Shuuji easily agreed, if she was the wealth of knowledge that he was led to believe then he was willing to wait a couple hours. For stories in the past, he's waited a lot longer for less. So for the next hour he sipped his coffee and observed the Waitress as she went back to her work, taking and giving out orders, greeting many of the customers by their names with a warm smile. After experiencing their service first hand, it was little wonder to the reporter why so many chose the _Peach Rose Café_ to unwind at. Idly, he watched a group of high-schoolers wander in from the street and wondered if it might be a good idea to bring his daughter here sometime? Was this kind of place something that Haruna liked?

He wished he knew...

The woman in the wig approached again, untying the black apron around her torso as she did. Shuuji straightened up as she laid the embroidered apron over the side of the booth and took the seat across from him. She placed a cup of tea in front of her and turned questioning green-blue eyes towards him. "So... tell me more about this article, Niekawa-san."

The reporter nodded as he reached into the pocket of his overcoat and retrieved his tape recorder, briefly asking if she was comfortable with their conversation being recorded to which she agreed. It only took a few minutes to explain the premise of his article and even less than that before a look of understanding dawned on the Waitress and her lips quirked up into a wry smile.

"You want to ask about Shizu." she guessed, leaning her arm on the table and resting her chin in her palm.

"So, you _do_ know him?" he pressed, eager to finally find a solid source of information.

She nodded, "Mmhm! We've been friends since middle school. You could even say that he is my closest friend."

"Friends?" Shuuji repeated, frowning a bit. That wasn't what he'd heard before, most of the rumors suggested something more... _intimate_. Katsuko's eyebrow raised slightly before she seemed to understand the though he hadn't voiced aloud.

She chuckled quietly, a wry smile still on her lips. "Yes, Niekawa-san, Shizuo and I are _friends_. Close friends, but friends none the less."

He nodded in understanding and let the subject drop, continuing with the real point of the interview. He brought his second cup of coffee to as lips as he asked the question that's been burning on his mind these last few days; "So, who is Heiwajima Shizuo, really? What kind of man is he? I'd like your honest opinion."

The Waitress was quiet as her expression smoothed out into something more thoughtful. She raised a finger to her chin as she chose her words with delicate care. Shuuji didn't mind the wait, he wanted an honest statement and from what he's seen so far, Sharaku-san seemed to be an earnest sort of person. She took genuine interest in her customers lives, greeting them with care and it was obvious in the way they responded that her feelings were returned. He'd been in the middle of drinking when she opened her mouth to speak.

"Heiwajima Shizuo is an _idiot_." she said decidedly, frowning now.

The reporter for the _Tokyo Disaster_ choked on his coffee in an embarrassing manner, thankfully, the Waitress didn't seem to notice this as she continued speaking without any prompting on his part as he tried to recompose himself.

"He is impulsive, clumsy, reckless, a _terror_ on commuters and public property—road signs in particular! The man has little-to-no impulse control and he refuses to even _try_ any form of anger management exercises! I swear, convincing that man to try out yoga—even _once_ —was like teaching a cat to swim! He refuses _any_ offers of help from the very few friends he has because he's under some kind of delusion that he has to deal with everything on his own." she ranted freely, drawing curious looks from the other waitstaff. Shuuji was in a stunned silence. Katsuko crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, "He is THE most stubborn ass that I have ever known in all my life! And _above all_ —"

She held up a finger and Shuuji unconsciously leaned forward in his seat, listening intently.

"...Heiwajima Shizuo is a _good man_."

Shuuji blinked, his surprise blatantly obvious.

"... _eh_?"

The reporter for the _Tokyo Disaster_ watched as Katsuko's expression softened immeasurably, a fond smile gracing her lips as her teal eyes warmed. "He is a man who cares deeply about the people around him, often doing everything in his very considerable power to help others where he can. Even if he is the one who ends up getting hurt in the process. He has a _terrible_ temper, that's true," she allowed with a nod, "but he rarely ever acts without good reason. He is a man with a strong sense of justice and even stronger morals. He is honest, kind, compassionate, loyal... I got really lucky when I met him. To surmise, he is the best friend I could have ever asked for."

Shuuji let out a breath, leaning back in his seat. He nodded to the Waitress, "Very well spoken, Sharaku-san. Thank you."

She giggled lightly, her smile turning a bit more sly. "He'd probably get flustered and blush red if he heard me talking about him like this. Shizu hates it when I describe his character. He doesn't think it suits him at all, but... like I said earlier, he's also an idiot."

The reporter also couldn't help but smile. The expectations he had for this conversation ended up nowhere near what he had first believed. Still, he had one more question to ask. "And Heiwajima-san, would you say that he is strongest person in Ikebukuro?"

Katsuko nodded firmly, grinning now. "Yup. He's a real-life Superhero."

 _Superhero_?

Shuuji was decided. After this conversation he was definitely going to have to speak with Heiwajima-san in person.

"Thank you again, Sharaku-san, this has been very informative."

"It's my pleasure, Niekawa-san! Always happy to tell people that Shizu isn't _nearly_ as scary as the rumors make him out to be. As long as you don't make him mad, of course! Haha..."

"I... see. Got any advice for when I interview him myself?"

"Hmm... I don't think that you'll have to worry about it too much, Niekawa-san. Shizu only gets pissed at idiots so you should be in the clear as long as you keep your head about you!" she cheerfully informed him.

"Ah." he uttered, a bit more curious and wary now. The Waitress stood up from her seat to leave and although she'd spoken on Heiwajima's behalf, she hadn't spoken about herself. "You know—" he spoke suddenly, drawing her attention back to him. "—there are a few stories surrounding _you_ as well, Sharaku-san. Some that are quite..." he trailed off, not quite sure how to put it. He was hesitant to say ' _far-fetched_ ', considering what other kind of unreal stories spawned from these streets.

Sharaku-san chuckled warmly, no doubt reading his mind again. "I bet there are. Tell me, which one of them caught your attention? Was it the one about the bear? Because there wasn't actually any bear. Yes, his name _was_ Kuma and yes, he was rather on the tall side, but we did _not_ get into a bare-knuckled brawl! He was just a guy who needed a little pep talk into finally proposing to his long-time girlfriend. No violence was involved." She paused, lifting a finger to her lip in thought. "... _that_ day. The wedding reception _did_ get a bit rowdy—Oh! But it was a lovely ceremony though!"

As interesting as that story sounded, Shuuji was more interested in another story. "How about the story that earned you the moniker; ' _The Unbreakable Girl_ '?"

It was subtle but Sharaku-san's cheerful smile became tighter, more strained. Though she hid it well, he could tell that she'd been caught off-guard with that question. It was a part of his job to be able to read his sources, to find the truth lying under the surface.

She lifted a hand to comb a few strands of apple-red hair from her brow. "Ah... there's no story there. Not one that would be interesting to the readers of the _Tokyo Disaster_ , at least. It was just a silly little name started by a annoying guy who didn't have anything better to do at that time."

Shuuji didn't believe that for a second. He had a sixth sense for when it came to these things. Recalling that man's words, he ventured a guess. "This guy, his name wouldn't happen to be Orihara Izaya, would it?"

Her green-blue eyes widened.

 _Bingo_.

She laughed weakly, trying to play off her discomfort as she grabbed and retied the apron around her waist. "Aha... You really are very good at what you do, Niekawa-san. Yes, that is his name but I'm afraid that is all I'm willing to say on the topic. It is very... personal." she confessed.

Seeing her body language close off, Shuuji nodded in acknowledgment and let it slide. It did not relate to his article and would only serve to sate his personal curiosity, there was no real need for him to pry into her private matters. After a moment her bright smile returned, even though Shuuji thought it didn't look quite as natural as it should be.

"I wish you good luck with your story then! I hope you find Shizu in a good mood!" Sharaku-san then left him at the booth and returned to her duties and Shuuji reached over the table to turn off his recorder with a ' _click_ ', sliding it back into the pocket of his overcoat. He paid the bill for his coffee and left the calming interior of the _Peach Rose Café_ and walked back onto the bustling street of Ikebukuro.

 _Interview concluded._

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen: "Everybody Talks"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Ahhh! I can't help myself! I've been meaning to get cracking on my other stories but the muse for this one just keeps on hounding me~! I actually was in the middle of writing the first day at Raijin High for Kat and the gang but THIS came up and I had to do a little look at present day. It's a little bit of sweetness on Kat and Shizuo's relationship, dash of canon-skewery, and a _hint_ of foreshadowing with Kat and Izaya's troubles. I'm really happy about this one.**

 **Okay! Thank you guys for sticking with me and my unorganized mess of a brain! And always, for taking the time to write to me! Thank you Momochan77, DannyPhantom619, ClosetCase (Ah! Thank you for the editing! I know how busy you already are with your own stories!) and Toreh for reviewing! You guys are so incredible and I don't think that I'll ever be able to properly express how much it means to me when I see your messages!**

 **Oh! Almost forgot, I drew up another two pictures for this! One is a steamy picture of Kat and Izaya and another is of Kat and Shizuo sharing a kiss. Neither are scenes from the story or spoilers of any kind, they're just products of my imaginations.**

 **Thank you, again! I wuv yew all! _Mwah_! **

_-Nanami_


	20. Chapter Eighteen, Raijin Academy

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen: "Raijin Academy"**

 _"And suddenly you just know it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2002**_

 _ **(8 Years Ago)**_

* * *

Katsuko's hands went through the motions with practiced ease, looping and tightening, she looked in the mirror as she straightened the red bow around her neck, smoothing out the collar of her button up blouse and buttoning the faded blue blazer at her waist. She turned slightly, checking her reflection before tugging on the bottom of her dark blue skirt once more. Nope, it was still _short_. She frowned at the mid-thigh length skirt and seriously considered putting on a pair of her jean shorts underneath. She chewed on her bottom lip and decided against it, _this_ was the proper dress code. Jean shorts weren't. But, neither was her Mama's cross yet she still had that hidden beneath her blouse, pressed against the skin of her chest.

' _Better not risk two dress code violations.'_ she decided with a sigh. Once more, she touched up her auburn hair, brushing her bangs out of her eyes, tucking away willful curls and making sure her braid was nice and neat.

She was a bundle of nervous energy in every way and hoped it didn't show. Along with a number of other emotions, excitement was one of the most prominent besides nervousness. She was doing it again. Starting over in a new place. Katsuko barely understood how she managed it the last time, she remembers there being a lot of frustrated tears and that was cause of a _bunch_ of her worries right now. She really hoped that she's matured somewhat from the lonely thirteen-year-old fresh from endlessly sunny SoCal. She really did. It was with a fortifying breath that she stowed away her two-tiered bento and hiked her book bag over her shoulder, walking out of her room and towards the door. There was no one left in the house to see her off, Mikage had already left for school, Stupid Eijirou and Uncle Eiiji had headed to the Gym along with her Father. Katsuko was the last one to leave.

It was quiet as she locked the door behind her, the only sounds that she could hear in her quiet neighborhood were her own muffled steps on the stone path leading out to the street. After all these years she's grown to love her new home and had gotten used to the sounds of the city and its bustling way of life, but... sometimes, when she walked out the door in the morning she expected to hear waves crashing on the beach below her house.

Then she would snap back to reality and here she was again, starting it all over from scratch.

A homesickness she began to feel was washed away as soon as she set her sight on a tall figure across the street from her house. She felt a smile grow on her lips. At least this time... she wasn't starting alone.

Across the street she could see her very own, very real superhero. A superhuman by the name of Heiwajima Shizuo. His overly-relaxed posture as he leaned on the building behind him gave away the fact he was still probably half-asleep, his eyes were nearly drooping shut as he patiently waited for her and she stole a moment to actually look at her friend. He wore the matching colors of the Raijin Academy uniform, a dark blue tie haphazardly tied around his collar. His, usually wild, blonde locks looked mildly presentable today and Katsuko hid a smile behind her hand as she guessed that Shizu had actually _tried_ to look good on their first day of High School.

With a spring in her step, she bounced over to the faux-blonde and her fingers began to undo his attempted Windsor knot. His drowsiness was replaced with mild alarm as Katsuko pulled up his collar, arching an eyebrow at her in question as her hands weaved the cloth expertly. "Kat..." he began, but she was already shooting off her mouth a mile-an-hour. Letting him know just how nervous she was pretending she wasn't.

"Good Morning, Shizu! Can you believe it?! It's finally here—" over and under her hands went, the back of her knuckles brushing against his jaw. He resisted the urge to pull away, listening to his good sense. Her hands were currently around his neck after all and he didn't doubt that she'd let go easily. "We are finally starting High School! Every story I've ever heard all agree that _this_ is going to be one of the most defining times of our lives! We'll have to make the best of every second of it—and _that_ means learning how to properly tie a necktie as well, Shizu!"

He scowled down at her but she was oblivious to it as she pulled the knot tightly, but gently, around his neck. Sea-green eyes lifted up to meet his hazel ones and his scowl couldn't stand against her sunny smile. "High school is going to be incredible, I just know it!" she declared.

"Hmph. You watch too many movies." he deadpanned, adjusting his own damn collar before she could get her hands around his neck and do that for him, too. "I regret going with you to that stupid teenage romantic comedy marathon last week. Your head's full of fluff now."

She reacted predictably, planting her fists on her hips and scowling (pouting, really) up at the blonde. "You loved ' _Clueless_ ' and you know it!"

Shizuo frowned, already walking towards the route to East Ikebukuro. Kat easily fell into step with him "...the whole thing could've been avoided if she hadn't been so... _y'know_. In fact, if they all hadn't been _complete_ _idiots_ and caused so much trouble, then a lot less people wouldn't have been hurt and things would've been resolved a lot faster."

A giggle was Katsuko's only reply as they entered the train station. Shizuo's scowl returned and he shot her an annoyed glare. She just smiled cheekily up at him, ever so delighted to know how much of a sucker he was for sappy romances.

"Shut up." he muttered, fully aware that she hadn't said anything. Her snickering only doubled and Shizuo seriously considered just hanging her up by her blazer and leaving her dangling on a sign or something. He smiled a little, it would probably be a funny thing to see.

They boarded the train and made it to East Ikebukuro with no interference, taking the rest of the way using residential backstreets, Katsuko making conversation with only a few remarks from Shizuo until they were a few blocks from their destination. The conversation about whether or not holding a weapons safety class (Mairu and Kururi were now armed, and Katsuko was worried) at the Gym would potentially do more harm or good was postponed as Katsuko stooped to the ground to pick up one of the colorful fliers that littered the ground at their feet. Katsuko scrunched her nose at the name of the restaurant, finding it irresistibly odd. She looked up at her friend who was also peering down at the advertisement in curiosity.

" _Russian Sushi_? Is that a thing?" she asked.

"Nope." Shizuo denied immediately. He didn't pay it another thought as he continued walking, Katsuko skipped forward to keep pace with his long strides.

"I know, let's go after school!" she said with a grin.

Shizuo's brow furrowed. "Go where?"

"To get Russian Sushi!"

" _Why_?"

"Because it sounds fun! C'mon, Shizuuu! We'll try it together! Today, on this first day in the new chapter of our lives, we'll start trying new things! Make memories!" she said excitedly, pestering him. Shizuo sighed, but before he could concede to her demands another voice called out his name from behind them. Both of them turned to see a boy waving at them, he had short brown hair and dark eyes behind a pair of rectangular glasses. He looked to be around their age and was even wearing a Raijin Academy uniform, just like them!

"Shizuo-kun...? Oh! OH! Shizuo-kun!" he called as he ran up to them. Katsuko glanced up at the blonde beside her to see him with his brow furrowed in concentration as he looked at the other boy. The boy in glasses was soon in front of them with a cheerful grin on his face, he pointed to himself while speaking. "Shizuo-kun, do you remember me? We went to primary school together! Kishitani Shinra!"

Shizuo's expression smoothed out as he recognized him.

"Oh. It's you." he said. Shinra smiled, pleased that his old friend remembered him.

And then Shizuo turned around and began walking away.

"S-Shizuo-kun!"

"Shizu!?"

Katsuko and Shinra both yelled after their mutual superhuman acquaintance in concert, glanced at one another, then dashed forward to catch up with the quickly retreating blonde. They began to walk on each side of him and Katsuko smiled at the boy from the other side of Shizuo, "Hi! I'm Sharaku Katsuko! Aren't you friends with Shizu, Kishitani-san? I think I remember him mentioning you once before."

Shinra returned her smile with one of his own, "He did?! That's very surprising, I was under the impression that Shizuo-kun didn't like me very much!" he said with a laugh.

It must be noted here, that Shizuo did not correct Shinra's (accurate) assumption.

With Katsuko and Shinra having introduced themselves to each other, they both quickly gathered that all three of them were enrolled into Raijin Academy and decided to walk the rest of the way as a group. Well, Katsuko and Shinra decided. Shizuo didn't seem to have an opinion either way about it. The auburn-haired girl quickly noticed her friend's sudden reluctance to talk but Shinra didn't seem to catch it as he was perfectly content to chatter away to Shizuo, even if it was one-sided.

"It seems we were fated to go to the same high school. How's your body holding up? That's right, let me examine you to commemorate our reunion!" he said cheerfully.

Shizuo did not respond, instead pausing to turn his head to peer down the street at the low, oncoming sound. He narrowed his eyes at the black-clad figure riding towards them, feeling something... _off_. There was something weird about it, Shizuo could feel it in his gut. He vaguely heard Shinra ask for his blood and Kat make an alarmed noise as he kept his eyes on the biker.

"Ignore him." he dismissed, still not paying much mind to the other boy. "He always says weird stuff like that."

The rider in black pulled up to the side of the street and Shrina quickly went to their side, whining about not showing up somewhere. Shizuo didn't care about the Doctor-to-be's wistful sighing's as he stared into the lowered visor of the Cat-shaped helm, trying to see... anything.

He didn't.

Back in those days, the rumor of the Black Rider was more obscure due to the lack of readily available access to social media. Even to a resident of Ikebukuro the stories of the headless Black Rider were far and few between, told amongst the other ghost stories late into the dark nights.

Back then, she hadn't had many connections to the human world.

Katsuko was oblivious to any otherworldly aspects that may have been floating around as she watched the rider jab Shinra in the solar plexus and winced in sympathy, she knew just how that could smart. She was quite perplexed as she watched Shrina continue to smile and talk nonsense even as he was placed in a headlock. Then the rider looked towards them.

"O-Oh, Celty, let me introduce you, this is my friend Heiwajima Shizuo and his, uh..." he paused and attempted to look at the auburn-haired girl from his restricted position, readjusting the glasses on his nose. "...wait, could it be... are you two dating!? Like, Boyfriend-Girlfriend?!"

Shizuo frowned at his old acquaintance, wondering how the hell he came to _that_ conclusion while Kat chuckled a bit awkwardly, lifting a hand to scratch her cheek. "Ahaha... uhm, no, we're not. We're just friends."

Though Shinra was the first to say it, it would not be the last time that Shizuo and Katsuko would have to correct that misunderstanding. And both of them would wonder (many times) why a boy and a girl couldn't spend time together and _just be friends_?

Shinra was released from his headlock so he could nod in understanding, "Ah, yes, that makes a lot more sense! I had a hard time believing that such an average-looking girl could get romantically entangled with a guy as excessively destructive as Shizuo-kun! If you had found love before I was _at least_ engaged to my beloved Celty then I would be convinced that the world was coming to an end!" he swooned, then was chopped in the side of the head by the rider in black.

Katsuko felt the corner of her lips start to tug into a frown at the words ' _excessively destructive_ ' while Shizuo's brow twitched and the side of his mouth pulled back into a not-so-nice smile.

"Do you wanna die...?" the blonde asked, his voice coming out as a growl.

Shinra immediately bent at the waist, bowing his head to sincerely apologize to the superhuman.

When he raised his head again, it was to look at Katsuko curiously, lifting his knuckle to his lips in a thoughtful expression. "Though, that does brings up the question of why you would be friends with someone so prone to violence in the first place... Sharaku-san," he took a step towards the girl with a braid and his glasses seemed to glare against the light, shielding his eyes from view. "Could it be that you have an abnormality, too? Or, perhaps, is it... _supernatural_?! Would you mind if I get a blood sample?"

"Ahhh..." All she could do was gape at the boy. Shizuo scowled in annoyance at Shinra's obviously rude questions but before he could do anything in retaliation, Shinra's cheek was already being harshly pulled by the rider, causing him to yelp as they put a comfortable distance between him and the utterly bemused Katsuko.

"A-Ah! Celty, my love, is this _jealousy_?! But, you know there isn't another girl for me! My heart forever belongs to y—" the rider, Celty, punched him in the gut, causing him to double over in pain. Katsuko's eyes widened at the sight while Shizuo was quickly starting to like this biker. As Shinra recovered, the rider stepped towards the other two and pulled out a PDA from her jacket sleeve and began typing, showing them the screen when she was finished.

"I apologize if he made you uncomfortable. Please, forgive him. He's an idiot." it read. Katsuko and Shizuo shared a glance before he shrugged and she smiled a the rider.

"I was a bit flustered, but it's okay now! Thank you for worrying!" Katsuko dismissed, then she blinked at the yellow cat-shaped helmet as she remembered they haven't introduced themselves yet! "Oh, right! My name is Sharaku Katsuko, by the way!"

Shizuo dipped his head in greeting, "Heiwajima Shizuo."

"...Cel... Celty..." Shinra wheezed, ignored.

The rider nodded to both teenagers, swiftly typing on the PDA again. "Nice to meet you both! My name is Sturluson Celty."

Katsuko's grin widened, "Nice to meet you, Celty-san!"

"...Ceeeeltyyyyyy~" Shinra whined a little louder, but no one took notice of him as Celty began asking questions about how they knew Shinra, whether they were friends, things like that. He began to pout at the lack of attention from his beloved, and even Shizuo-kun was ignoring him too! After being separated for four years, one would think he'd be more happy to see his only friend from back then!

Shinra was beginning to take it personally.

"You're all ignoring me!" he accused, jumping to his feet. But to his dismay, Shizuo and Katsuko had already turned around and began walking towards the Academy again, finished talking with Celty, before they were late for the first bell. Then, Shinra realized, he was finally all alone with his beautiful Celty! Taking this chance, he quickly called after the departing pair. "Okay! You guys go on ahead, I'll follow soon! I'm going to spend some more time basking in my beloved's presence!"

Shizuo and Katsuko hadn't heard him, already having moved out of hearing range as they came up on the large gate of Raijin Academy. Kat barely managing not to skip the rest of the way as they passed under the large boughs of the blooming Cherry Blossom trees. The blonde superhuman glanced down to his side and was amused to see the top of Kat's auburn hair was littered with fallen petals from the breeze, making her look like she'd been rolling in them. Knowing she'd react badly with her _oh-so tidy_ hair being assaulted by flowers, he stopped their walk before they reached the crowd of teenagers filing into the gate with a light touch on her shoulder.

She looked up at him in question and Shizuo lifted his hand and began to brush off the pink petals tangled in her wavy hair. Katsuko was caught off-guard for a moment until she crossed her eyes and spotted the pink stationed in her fringe, she laughed brightly when she did. Thankful for once that Shizu was tall enough to see the top of her head. In return she brushed off the few petals that sat on his shoulder though he wasn't nearly as covered as she was. When he finished, Katsuko reached up (on her tip-toes) to plant her hand on the top of his head and toss his dyed-blonde hair, making it look as wild and uncombed as it usually was.

"Hey!" he protested weakly, frowning down at her. "...I brushed that this morning."

She snickered as she pulled away, grinning up at him. "It's fine, it's fine! You look better like this!"

Katsuko began walking towards the entrance again but he was still frowning as he followed after her, confused.

Wasn't _she_ the one always complaining that he never brushed it?

* * *

 **Chapter Eighteen: "Raijin Academy"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Ah, I had to spilt this chapter in half! It ran on way too long so I had to end it here... a shame. Things get so much more interesting in the second half! Welp, we'll just have to deal with the FLUFF! So much sweet fluff. Plus Celty and Shinra! They all met, the beginning of some beautiful friendships right there. On a side note, writing Shinra was so much fun! I don't really get to write such a lovesick character that often so this was a nice reprieve from the usual stuff.**

 **Thank you guys for continuing to read this and writing to me! Thank you to DannyPhantom619, Momochan77 and ClosetCase! You guys are wonderful! _Mwah_!**

 **I love you all! 'Till next time!**

 _-Nanami_


	21. Chapter Nineteen, The Fight

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: "The Fight"**

 _"When you're mad at someone you love, be careful what you say because your mind gets angry but your heart still cares."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2002**_

 _ **(8 Years Ago)**_

* * *

As they walked to their classrooms, Kat's eyes took in their new surroundings like on those first trips around Ikebukuro they spent becoming friends, eagerly and bubbly, like a little kid. Blue-green orbs danced from gazing through the large glass walls that had a view of the small sports field, up to the second floor of the hall where the older students were walking around with memorized ease, all of them already acquainted and talking over what had happened during their spring breaks.

Katsuko clasped her hand to her chest, her mind filling with the ideas about the days when she will be able to join her own large group of _very_ good friends and talk about whatever interesting things that happened to her! An excited smile curled her lips. She was already looking forward to this time again next year.

As Kat got lost in her daydreams, Shizuo was more aware of the other students around them as they walked down the tiled halls, noticing the looks that were tossed their way. How some looks lingered on the color of his hair, some seeing Kat's behavior and sniggering to themselves. He felt himself frown as he walked beside the auburn-haired girl. It was only the first day and Shizuo already had a bad feeling sitting in his gut. He couldn't name the exact feeling or even where it was coming from, it was just an... an _instinct_.

He didn't like it.

They walked together until they reached the classrooms. That year, like all their years in middle school together, they had separate rooms. With a promise for meeting again at lunchtime they parted at his classroom, 1-A, and Katsuko walked down the hall until reaching 1-D. Following a few other students, she tightened her hand around the strap of her book bag and walked into the classroom. At first glance it seemed like every other classroom Katsuko had been in. There were about twenty-four desks, with four rows of six and a set of windows with a view of the front Gate where students were still flowing in. A small podium stood in front of the blackboard at the head of the classroom for the teacher, and there were a set of cubbies on the opposite side of the room for the students to store their extra books and lunches.

Someone cleared their throat from behind and Katsuko startled, turning around to see a pair of girls standing in the hall with an irritated expression on their faces. She realized with an embarrassed flush that she had been gawking from the middle of the doorway, blocking entrance. Ducking her head, Katsuko quickly shuffled inside to allow the pair of her new classmates to pass her by without giving her another glance. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or discouraged by how easily they dismissed her. Then she reminded herself that real life doesn't work like in the movies and that she wasn't going to make a brand new friend within the five seconds since she's entered the classroom. It just wasn't realistic.

When more students continued to walk in and claim their seats, it was then that Katsuko realized that she hadn't found out where _she_ was sitting yet! Thankfully the seating arrangements were written on the blackboard in clear view of the room. Each desk was assigned to a student by their surname in a syllabary order, starting from the seat in the first row next to the window. Katsuko's eyes scanned the blackboard for the _Sh_ of Sharaku, finding it in the eighteenth position.

Her desk was in the third row from the front, right beside the window. She quietly made her way over to the desk, making extra sure not to trip and fall on her face in front of the rest of her classmates and be labeled as a klutz on her very first day. Sliding the strap of her bag off her shoulder she took her seat, setting the bag on the floor between her feet after pulling out a brand new notebook and a pen to set on the surface of the desk. She began to fiddle with the corner of the notebook nervously.

Here she was again. Only now her one friend was three classrooms away and she was being surrounded by strange, unfamiliar faces.

 _'They won't be unfamiliar forever. I'll get to know them all soon enough.'_ she reasoned to herself. _'New school, new year. That also means meeting new friends! Just this morning I've met Shizu's old friend, Kishishani-san, and Miss Celly-san! It's already turning out better than last time!'_ Katsuko smiled to herself, comforted by that thought.

And as if to reassure her, her Mama's words echoed in her head. Feeling a warmth bloom she lifted a hand and placed her palm against her chest as she closed her eyes, feeling the shape of the silver cross under her blouse. She heard light footsteps before the seat in front of her was moved, another person she would eventually get to know filling it.

 _We meet the people we're supposed to when the time is just right._

"Wow, it really _is_ a small world." a voice mumbled in wonder. "...wouldn't you agree, Katsuko-chan?"

Katsuko opened her eyes when she unexpectedly heard her name to meet a familiar pair of brown eyes peering back at her, her own teal eyes widening in recognition as a small gasp escaped her lips. Izaya smiled roguishly as he sat down, resting his arm on the back of his chair so he could to continue look back at the surprised auburn-haired girl.

"Orihara-san!" she exclaimed, nearly stuttering in shock. He was here! At Raijin Academy! In her classroom! He... was also not wearing the school uniform, instead wearing the same uniform that she usually saw him in. Huh? She was still trying to reconcile the fact that the Twin's brother was _here_ when Izaya's smile fell and was replaced with a pout.

"I told you to call me by _Izaya_ , Katsuko-chan! We're friends after all, aren't we? People will think that I'm being creepy if I'm the only one being familiar on the first day!" he whined, his tone a friendly and teasing one. He knew this would be the fastest way to make her comfortable, to act overly familiar with the foreign girl seemed to put her at ease from what he's observed.

It had been painfully obvious from the second he walked into the classroom that Miss Babysitter looked completely out of place here, clutching her bag to herself as she kept her head down. Laughably trying to blend in right along with the other Humans. Granted, Izaya could acknowledge the fact that not many were able to see all the wonderful, singular contradictions that every Human being held like he could. They could not always understand that everyone stood apart in their own ways, no one being the same as the next. Not even a pair of twins could do that.

Yet, this girl was nothing like the combative and strange lover of the unlovable that he'd gotten to witness these last few months. She had placed up that mask she wears so well without giving anyone a chance to see her without it. The Twins had no concept of personal boundaries and that is exactly how they always manage to break down the polite and false charade that Miss Babysitter always plays.

He'd strip it down, as well. After all... he'd found out that peeking at what lied under the surface was much more interesting than the meek little girl in front of him now. The sooner he starts, the better.

"Looks like we're going to be seat-mates, Katsuko-chan!" he said, his smile returning. But, she didn't respond right away, simply staring at the raven-haired teenager with her wide eyes.

From the second he'd said it, Katsuko had been silently repeating ' _Izaya, Izaya, Izaya_ ' in her mind with hopes of committing it to memory but was hopelessly distracted when he said the much more important word: _Friends_. Before this moment, she had been convinced that he only thought of her as his sister's babysitter, or worse, the girl that had attacked him in his own house! That was what she thought, but... he considered them _friends_?

She made another friend!

Her eyes closed as her lips stretched, resulting in a blinding grin reserved for when she was overcome with happiness. Even Izaya was caught off guard by the sheer amount of relief and joy that washed off of her. "Okay! I'm looking forward to learning with you this year, Izaya!" she said with that pleased grin.

Izaya let out a small huff, his smile turning wry. There was that starry-eyed earnesty of hers again.

He wonders just how long it can last?

Their teacher, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, walked in as the last of their classmates filed into the room. And just as Izaya was about to turn to face the front of the classroom, his discerning eyes caught on a spot of pink. He reached backwards and deft fingers brushed against the fringe on the side of Katsuko's face and plucked out a wayward sakura petal.

"Missed one." he murmured, dropping it on her desk. Ocean eyes blinked rapidly before her face flushed, embarrassed and grateful at the same time. She mouthed a silent ' _Thank you_ ' to him as their teacher introduced himself and began taking an attendance of the students. Glancing once more at the dark-haired boy in front of her, Katsuko felt better about the idea of spending the next year in this class. And with that thought in mind, the first class of the semester began.

* * *

The hours ended up passing more quickly than Katsuko had anticipated and before she knew it, it was the middle of the day and their free period had started. Remembering how she had agreed to meet the blonde superhuman outside his classroom, she reached into her book bag and retrieved their lunch.

"That's a big lunchbox." Izaya commented with an arched eyebrow, turning in his seat again so he could look at her without straining himself. "I _was_ going to ask if you wanted join me and a friend of mine for lunch, but it looks like you might already have plans."

Katsuko smiled apologetically at him. "Yeah, sorry. I already promised to eat with my friend from middle school, Shizu, and he..." she chuckled a bit awkwardly, tucking a stray lock of curly hair behind her ear while memories of flying hooligans flashed through her mind. "Well, he doesn't really like meeting new people."

That was only partially true, but the real reason was that she also didn't feel entirely good about introducing Shizu to the brother she complained to him so much about. At least, not yet. Especially after the whole incident with the prank 911 call, it wouldn't do to rush into things. She knew her friend and she knew she would have to warm him up to the idea first. Baby steps.

Izaya smiled good-naturedly, shrugging in his seat and making no move to get up. "That's fine. Maybe we can all have lunch together next time."

 _That_ caused her to do that far too happy grin again, obviously pleased with his idea. She placed her book bag inside of her desk and walked to the door, hesitating briefly before turning back to wave at the dark-haired boy who still had his eyes on her. He returned her wave with a relaxed smile and watched her disappear after a moment into the hall to go meet someone else.

Katsuko was still grinning as she walked down the hall, the cloth handle of the bento held carefully in her hands, as she passed a group of chatting boys exiting 1-B. She had made it to the door of 1-A and raised her hand in a wave only to run right into Shizuo who was already on his way out! He looked down at her when she nearly collided into his chest. She noticed he was scowling, annoyed. That wasn't a good sign. Behind him she could see—oh! That was Kitishihani-san! He was walking over to them now! Ah! She suddenly had a good idea to invite him to have lunch with them! He was already friend of Shizu's so it would be okay!

Kat looked up at him with an expression he recognized too well. He grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, Shizu— _woah!_ " she yelped in surprise as she tried to find her footing as Shizuo had grabbed her still-upraised wrist and began tugging her along behind him as he started off down the hallway in a fast-paced walk. Katsuko stumbled after him ungracefully as she tried to find her footing again, faintly hearing Shinra called after the two of them as they moved further and further down the hall.

"Shizuo-kun, wait up! You didn't answer my question about having—...oh. He's already gone." he muttered to himself, not entirely bothered by his friend's sudden and hasty retreat. A thoughtful look crossed his face as he watched his old friend disappear down another hall, remembering that his other friend must be waiting on him to show up! He smiled and headed towards classroom 1-D, hoping that Izaya hadn't gone ahead without him again. "Oh, well... I guess I'll just have to introduce them another time!"

* * *

It wasn't until they were two-thirds of the way down the _next_ hallway before he slowed down enough for Kat to regain her balance enough to walk without fear of tripping and landing on their lunch. Her wrist slipped from his grasp as she began to walk beside him and she craned her neck up to look at his still-scowling face.

"What was _that_ about?" she asked, bewildered by his behavior. He's only ever pulled her away like that when he thinks she's going to get herself into a troublesome situation! And Katsuko was fairly sure that she hadn't done anything ( _yet_ ) today to earn it!

"Nothing." was his curt answer.

Kat made a funny face. It looked like a mix of disbelief and frustration.

"Please tell me that you are kidding! That was _not_ ' _Nothing_ ', it's obviously _something_!" she pressed, to his continued annoyance. "Don't you want to—"

" _No_." he cut in with a tone that left no room for argument.

She started doing that frowny-pout and Shizuo wanted to roll his eyes. The hall was beginning to fill up with students and he began to look for somewhere _quiet_ to eat as they walked together. He spotted a stairwell at the end of the hall, near the entrance to the library. To the roof. Maybe if it was quiet enough, he could even catch a nap in the sun before classes started again.

"You don't even know what I was going to say! What if it's a really good idea!" she whined, following after the blonde with no particular care to where they were headed.

He turned around to narrow his eyes at her in irritation even as he gently pushed open the heavy metal door. "You were going to ask if Shinra could eat lunch with us and the answer is _no_. I don't want to. Are you done now?"

She raised her free hand in surrender, seeing the _look_ he was giving her. They didn't need to try and explain any accidentally severe property damage on the first day. "Okay, okay..." she mumbled. "I'll let it go."

He stared at her hard for a moment, hazel eyes searching her expression for a sign that she was really going to let this go. The only thing he saw were those big green-blue eyes staring back at him patiently. Shizuo made an annoyed grunting noise when he realized he couldn't tell and started climbing the stairwell up the three floors to the roof.

They weren't half-way up the first flight of stairs before she spoke up again.

"Shizu, why don't you want to eat lunch with Kitani-san? Aren't you two friends?" she asked curiously from behind him.

His scowl deepened, not in the mood to bother correcting her.

Typically, when someone says something is ' _nothing_ ' the subject gets dropped. It goes pretty much unsaid that the person doesn't actually _want_ to talk about it and others respect that choice. For some reason you'd think that he'd know Kat was anything but typical at this point.

Kat _liked_ to talk. To _him_ , especially.

Shizuo sighed.

"We're not friends. Not really." he eventually answered. "Shinra was just the only one that would come near me during school hours. Sometimes he brought me my homework when I was in the hospital, but that was just so he could ask for my blood or crap like that."

"But _not_ friends." she repeated for confirmation. He nodded. Katsuko contemplated her next question seriously for a moment, looking up at his clothed back as they continued to ascend the dimly-lit stairway. "So... you didn't like seeing him again after all this time apart? Not even a little bit?"

"It's..." he trailed off, not sure how to put it. Shizuo knew that he was crap with words. It was also annoying to talk about this. It was bringing up a lot of bad feelings he'd rather not feel, of times he'd rather not think about. Shizuo grimaced, feeling irritated just thinking about it.

By now he had stopped climbing the staircase, faced forward with his hand on the railing. Katsuko bit her lip and stopped a few steps below him, looking up at his back and hoped she wasn't pushing any boundaries. She wasn't even aware before this moment that there _were_ boundaries. It was always so easy to be around Shizu that she didn't have to think about it, but there were things that they hadn't really talked about before. He didn't talk about the fights he used to get into and she didn't like talking about her life in California.

"Haah... seeing him reminds me of how I was in primary school. All the fights I used to get into back then." he answered at length. "...I was out of control back then."

He didn't like to think back to those times. Every other week he'd end up in the hospital because he'd broken something when he was smashing some idiots faces in. Shizuo was thankful to Tom-senpai for the advice he'd been given back in middle school, to dye his hair so that punks would be more wary to approach him. It was because of him that Shizuo was able to enjoy a couple years of peaceful school days, even if it was occasionally interrupted by a particularly stupid idiot but those fights were always resolved quickly. It had been a hell of a lot better than primary school.

Katsuko nodded slowly, fingers anxiously toying with the ends of the bento's cloth handle. "You don't talk much about before we met at Roka... why is that? I mean, I've seen you fight before, lot's of times."

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Kat looking up at him as she waited for his answer, he turned around with a heavy scowl on his face. "Kat, you _think_ that you've seen me fight before, but you have _no idea_ the kind of destruction I used to cause. Sure, I get into a fight once in a long while nowadays, but back then there wasn't a _day_ that went by that I didn't end up breaking a bone! Either mine or someone else's! It didn't matter! It didn't matter because I'm always _so damn angry_ —"

A hand landed on his and Shizuo looked down, seeing the twisted metal railing in his grasp. He nearly tore it from the concrete staircase just _thinking_ about the past! About all of his _many_ screw-ups! He felt angry at himself for being the reason for Kat to have such a worried look on her face. He knew that she has enough to stress about with her Father and with every other damn thing she's doing, yet here she was, adding more to her worries! That knot in his chest tightened, the one he always seemed to carry with him. He grinded his teeth together, boiling in frustration, mostly at himself and all his _damned anger_!

"Shizuo..." Kat murmured softly, looking up at him with concern. She mustered up a half-smile as her calloused fingers curled around his much larger palm. "C'mon... let's go eat."

Shizuo looked down into Kat's blue-green eyes and took a deep breath, forcibly relaxing the muscles in his arm. He untangled his fingers from the metal railing and her hand fell away, the warmth of her skin on his leaving with it.

They climbed the last flight of stairs in quiet, pushing open the metal door with ease, they stepped out onto the roof of the building. Unlike Roka, the roof here had been designed with the intention of students spending their free time there. The edge of the roof was lined with a fence about 12-feet high and the area itself was decorated with rows of planters filled with various azalea (vibrant colors of red, white, yellow, and violet) all healthy and in the beginning stages of blooming, with long benches lining beside them.

Besides the two of them the roof was practically deserted, only a couple older-looking students hanging next to the fence as they smoked cigarettes. Their eyes landed on them the second the waked out the door. Shizuo glanced at them briefly, noticing the messily way they wore their uniforms and how they looked like they were trying _way_ too hard to look edgy. He scoffed in disdain before walking over to the corner of the roof opposite of them, Kat following him without giving the others a glance.

They both took a seat on the wooden bench and she untied the bento in the space between them, handing him the first tray and a pair of chopsticks as she reached under the next tray and pulled out a plump peach as she tucked her legs neatly underneath her and futilely attempted to get her skirt to cover more of her thighs. The sky was a grey-blue and the sun warm on her skin, Katsuko took a moment to gaze at the azalea admiringly and just enjoyed the moment before something occurred to her. Shizuo got to enjoy his lunch in peaceful silence for a whole two minutes before Katsuko spoke up.

She started slowly, her nose scrunched up in a thoughtful expression as she absently tossed the peach between her hands. "Hey, Shizu... I might've not known you back then, when you were in primary school, but I know you now so that means I've got your back! " Kat nodded, certain of herself, before looking over to Shizuo and flashed him her usual sunny smile. "You're my best friend so you can count on me if you ever need me! M'kay?"

For a moment, the blonde superhuman simply stared at her smile, his mouth hanging open and his onigiri stopped just before it reached his lips.

Then... that knot in his chest _eased_.

Just a bit...

He had to look away from her smile, muttering.

"...yeah. I know."

* * *

They stopped just outside of the bottom of the stairwell and Kat turned to him, flinging her long braid off of her shoulder. "Alright, after classes are done I've got some things to take care of for my class but we can meet up at the gate and to go to that _Russia Sushi_ place? I kind of volunteered to help clean up afterwards."

Shiuzo gave her a dull look. She smiled apologetically, though he sorta expected her to do something like that. Kat always strives to be perfect at everything, being a perfect student from day one _was_ something that she'd do. He nodded anyway, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Fine. See you then."

She gave him one more smile before turning around and skipping off to her classroom for the rest of the day. Shizuo turned and did the same. To his moderate relief, nothing stressful or too annoying happened during the rest of the classes to aggravate his temper as the teachers induced the subjects they would be learning over the course of the next semester. He might have gotten the urge to throw something a couple of times when Shinra tried to get his attention, but he got through the first day of High School without causing an incident. He even managed to slip out of the classroom without attracting Shinra's pesky attentions.

It was as he was taking a shortcut through the sports field to avoid the crowds of students fleeing the grounds, he wondered if Kat would be proud of him for his restraint today?

"Oi! You, with the blonde hair!"

Shizuo stopped, turning his head to look over his shoulder towards the voice. It was another student, maybe older than he was? It took him a moment to place them, but Shizuo thought that he recognized some of them as the try-hards from the roof. One of them stepped forward.

"You're a freshman, right? What the hell do you think you're doing, walking around like you're some kinda tough guy? Eh?!"

Shizuo's brow twitched. He breathed deeply through his nose. Counting to ten in his mind.

"Oi!? Aren't you going to answer, pissant?!"

He felt his pulse begin to quicken in his veins. He grit his jaw, his fingers curling in to a fist of their own accord.

Standing on the field with him now were several others, slowly walking around to surround him. A punk began to stride up to him, raising his fist and shouting: "You think you're the shit, huh? Think 'ya can look down on us 'coz you dyed your hair?! Well, we'll put you in your rightful place, you wannabe!"

The punk took a swing at him and Shizuo lost all control, planting his fist in his face and sending him skidding across the field. There was that moment of stunned silence that always followed before another guy charged at him.

Well, Shizuo really had tried.

* * *

"Now, wait a second!" Shinra exclaimed, eyes wide with surprise as they left the building. He spun around to look at his questionable friend in the face. "Are you talking about Mairu-chan and Kururi-chan's babysitter? The same one that hit you with a spoon?!"

Izaya arched one slender eyebrow at the doctor-to-be, amused _that_ is the detail Shinra remembered when he mentioned Miss Babysitter to him and her ability to reign in his wild sisters. He was about to answer him when he was interrupted by a nightmarish _roar_ that broke across the academy grounds, echoing through the air.

For a moment, Izaya lost the ability to form words. Glancing over at Shinra he could tell the other boy was just as surprised by the animalistic sound as he was. They both looked towards the direction of the sports field where it originated from. And then, both of them driven by a sort of morbid curiosity they both held, they began walking towards it.

Rounding the side of the academy building, they were met with an extraordinary sight. Brown eyes widened as Izaya witnessed a teenager with blonde hair standing out in the middle of the devastated sports field, the ground around him littered with misshapen bodies that Izaya wasn't entirely sure were still breathing. Even now there were still a couple poor souls standing upright, bloodied but still managing to stand as they hobbled towards the Raijin student in the center.

Izaya watched, transfixed, as the blonde marched over to the metal soccer goal and tore it up from the earth with another one of those spine-chilling howls of _pure, unadulterated fury_.

"Oh! It's Shizuo-kun!" Shinra exclaimed suddenly, breaking Izaya from his trance. "That's the friend from primary school that I was telling you about!"

The dark-haired teen looked at his friend incredulously before looking back at the ruins of the field and the heaving beast that was the cause of it all.

" _That_ isn't human." Izaya corrected.

Shinra laughed good-naturedly in response, smiling. "Well, I can certainly understand why you might come to that conclusion, but I can assure you that he is very much a human. Just a tremendously strong human with an equally violent and uncontrollable temperament."

That didn't assure Izaya of anything. What he was seeing before him now wasn't a man... but something more akin to one of the fabled monsters from his mythology books.

"OH! I can finally introduce you two!" Shinra blurted out, "I'd almost given up hope of doing it today because Shizuo-kun's been avoiding me but now is as good a time as any! C'mon Orihara-kun! Let's go say hi!"

Izaya took another look at the ruined field, watching as it swung the deformed goal post around and swept up the last of the far outmatched opponents in one go. Emerging victorious from the carnage.

He _smiled_.

"Sounds fun."

* * *

The sky had begun to turn from a grey-blue to a deep orange as the sun dipped below the skyline in the west, disappearing behind the skyscrapers that populated the district. The last of the students that had stayed behind at the academy to clean up their classrooms or had other obligations had finally finished and packed up to leave for the day. Here, Katsuko waited outside the front gate of the Academy, bouncing on the balls of her feet as teal eyes wandered the passing faces of her departing schoolmates, looking for a familiar mop of wild blonde hair.

She had no clue that her superhuman best friend was currently six miles away, tearing through the streets after a certain troublemaking raven-haired seatmate of hers.

 _"_ — _What was all that racket earlier? Is there some kind of construction nearby?"_ one student asked another as they passed her, inadvertently catching her ear.

 _"Didn't you hear what happened to the soccer field?"_ another asked in a tone she recognized. Her brow pinched together as she strained to overhear the answer she half-expected.

 _"Yeah! It's completely wrecked! The destruction is unreal, man!"_

Katsuko's eyes stopped searching the faces, all of her attention focused on the conversation now.

 _"What! Are you serious?"_

 _"I saw everything!"_ he exclaimed. _"It was a freshman! He just attacked a gang of guys outta nowhere! Just ripped the goal post from the ground like it was nothing to him and started swinging it around!"_

The first student scoffed, _"Haha! Yeah, right!"_

 _"I'm serious! He was tall with blonde hair and freakishly strong! He_ — _"_

She'd stopped listening at that point, hearing all that she needed to. Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth she worried it between her teeth anxiously. Katsuko looked out at the unfamiliar faces one last time and a part of her _wondered_...

Where was Shizu?

* * *

"Annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying, _annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying_! _Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!_ "

Shizuo was upset.

The sun had fully set and the sky had darkened by the time Shizuo made his way home, only the dim yellowing lights of the streetlamps to accompany him, cursing under his breath the entire way. Understandably so, it was the _very first_ day of the new semester and he'd already wrecked things with his cursed strength! First, he ended up wrecking the sports field because of those damned punks that picked a fight, and _then_ he met _that shitty guy_ and ended up running for _hours_ across the whole goddamned city! He chased him and that guy kept escaping _just_ out of Shizuo's grasp, jumping away, before he could get the chance to wring his damn neck. Shizuo had never had to deal with such a slippery bastard like that before, it was like he was some kind of... some kind of...

 _Flea_.

"That shitty flea—I'll make sure to kill him the next time I see him! _Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill_ —" he continued to fume. God help any fool that cross his path right now, because he'd swear he—

Shizuo stopped in his tracks, spotting someone sitting on the steps to his door. The person wore a pristine white blouse, the red bow around the collar was untied as the cloth hung loosely around their neck. A blue Raijin blazer discarded to the side. Her careful braid was gone, instead letting waves of tangled auburn hair fall down over her shoulders unhindered.

"Kat." he realized. It took him longer than it should have to realize it was her, his mind still fogged with an anger he had no control over. Another part of his mind also doesn't think he's ever seen her wear her hair down before.

Teal eyes snapped up to him the second her name left his lips, surprised and wide.

 _He completely forgot about meeting with her._

Guilt hit him, hard, and he attempted to mutter out an apology. "Sorry, I—" Kat had jumped up from where she was sitting, cutting him off as she crossed the distance between them. Her eyes were wide as she looked at the large gash across his shirt as her hands hovered over his chest, over the stitched cut there. He scowled heavily at the reminder. After finding that _damned flea_ at Shinra's apartment, he had stitched up the bleeding wound after Shizuo was able to remove the **RED** from his vision but that _pest_ had still ruined his shirt!

Her hands finally stopped roaming when they reached his face, cool palms gently cupping his cheeks as she looked up at him. Her eyes darted between his, as if she was unsure where to look. "Shizu, what _happened_ to you?! You look terrible! Did you get into a fight? Are you ok—"

" _Nothing_ happened." he said curtly, his voice still hoarse from all the yelling and screaming he'd done today. It's been a long time since he lost control like that.

"Well that's _obviously_ not true!" she snapped hotly. Shizuo stared at her in surprise. Was she... _Angry_? Like, actually angry with him? Because he missed some stupid sushi?! What the— " _Look at you_! You've been _bleeding_! You were fine at lunch, so how did you end up like _this_!?"

Because he met _that shitty guy and he_ —he felt his anger spark to life again as he thought about it. He growled under his breath, mind fogging, jaw clenching tight as he thought about that _damned pest_. Shizuo had never met a guy that pissed him off this much before! All he wanted to do was wrap his hands _around his neck and_ —Kat pulled his face, forcing him to look at her.

"Shizuo—"

"I _said_ ; it's NOTHING!" he shouted into her face, startling her. Shizuo then reached up and yanked her hands away from his face, pushing them back into her chest. She stumbled a few steps back from the force, the back of her heel hitting the porch step, and Shizuo's heart lurched in his chest as she fell backwards. _Nonono_ —Katsuko let out a quiet grunt as she landed roughly on her side, her arm bracing her from hitting her head against the step.

A cold feeling of dread shot into his gut. Shizuo took an aborted step forward and stopped, instead he reached up and dug a hand into his hair. " _Shit_! I didn't mean to—Kat, are you okay?!"

She was quiet and dread pooled in his stomach, he couldn't see the expression on her face because her hair was hanging down over it. He waited for her to move or speak or _do anything at all_ as his heart pounded against his ribcage, beating more painfully than he ever remembers it beating before. Slowly, Katsuko stood to her feet again and lightly brushed the dirt off her clothing. His eyes still caught the color red, from the open scrape on her palm. The one that _he_ caused. Shizuo was still holding his breath as she turned to face him again, raising her head to glare at him with a scowl on her lips.

Shizuo doesn't think he's ever seen Kat look so _pissed_ before.

" _Shizuo Heiwajima_ , are you a _complete idiot_?!" she demanded, marching right back up to him with her fists planted on her hips. "I've known you for _four years_ now, seen you get into _dozens_ of fights with all kinds of guys, but I have _NEVER_ seen you so roughed up before! Tell me what happened to you, right now. And _no_ —you can't dodge the question again or I will just KEEP asking until I get a straight answer from you!"

He stared at her, unable to understand why. The question escaped his lips before he realized that he was actually asking it.

"...why?"

She huffed, teetering on _extreme_ annoyance with her apparently _very_ thick-headed friend. " _Because_ —" she then pressed a hand to her chest, "I'M gonna go kick their asses next!"

 _'Of all the stupid—'_ he stopped that thought, gritting his teeth as his heart thrashed harder against his chest.

He knew it was a stupid question to ask. He knew that he wasn't going to like the answer, but—but he needed to know _why_.

"Why the hell do you keep trying to be my friend!?" he yelled into her face, his voice cracking as he asked the question he's been putting off for so long.

It was Katsuko's turn to stare. Her mouth hung open, stunned speechless by his question.

"W-Why...?" she repeated blankly, caught off-guard. "Why _wouldn't_ I be? Because you have a temper and throw things around?! Shizu, _everyone_ gets mad sometimes and—"

" _NO_!" he cut in harshly, glaring at her. He'd just _hurt her_ and she was literally brushing it off like it was _nothing_! This was _not_ nothing. " _Don't_ try and act like this is normal! Like _everybody else_ flies into blind rages, like everyone else can punch through solid walls like they're paper or—or can _tear apart_ steel like IT'S _NOTHING_! Is it because you've got some idea stuck in your head about how I'm some kind of hero?! Because I'm _not_ a hero, Kat! You can't just have all these unrealistic expectations of people who are only going to disappoint you!"

He watched as Kat's eyes widened in shock, his words hitting her harder than the fall. His hazel eyes didn't falter as he continued to stare her down. She pressed her lips together into a hard line, a very familiar look of stubbornness shining in her teal eyes.

"Do you remember when I told you that my Mama was an actress? That she used to be in a lot of movies?" she asked suddenly, changing the topic out of the blue.

Shizuo's face screwed up in confusion, "What the hell does that have to do with—"

"Growing up, my Mama was _always_ working so that meant that she spent most of her days on set in the production lots. So that meant that _I_ spent a lot of time on the lots too, even when she was filming in other countries. It was so that whatever free time she had, she could spend it with _me_. Because of that, every day I got to see the most unimaginable things happen before my eyes! I got to see every kind of animal you could ever want to see, from lions to bears to tigers—I even got to ride on the back of an elephant!" Katsuko confessed, speaking so fast that Shizuo could barely keep up with her.

"When I was old enough, Mama enrolled me into a all-girl's Catholic school in _Malibu_. She thought about hiring private tutors so I could keep traveling with her when she had to film abroad but she decided against it because _more than anything_ she wanted me to make friends! But, after I got there and made friends just like she wanted for me, they weren't _really_ my friends. They only ever hung out with me because our parents were famous, they didn't actually care if I liked strawberry milk over chocolate! Or if I couldn't watch scary movies in the dark! Or that I loved the feeling of swimming in the ocean more than anything else!"

Shizuo knew those things, those were some of the most obvious things about Kat. But he hadn't known about the rest of it. He'd always thought that Kat had left behind _dozens_ of friends in California, all of them closer to her than he ever was.

Kat suddenly shook her head and let out a growl of frustration at the lack of _realization_ in the blonde goof's expression.

"Don't you get it?! Every time she left I was always surrounded by the most incredible and talented people every day and I _knew_ that had the most caring, loving woman in the entire world as my Mother who adored me, but I still felt like I was _alone_! And... and ever since I lost her..." Kat's voice broke, water welling up in her eyes. She grabbed his arms instead, holding them in her grasp firmly to ground herself. Refusing to cry in front of her best friend who she could see was already in so much pain.

"Shizuo, _you_ are the first person since I lost my Mama to make me feel like I'm not alone anymore!" she told him, her lips trembling as she continued to hold in her tears. Shizuo sucked in a breath of surprise, unable to speak as he listened to her continue. " _You_ are my wonderful, _amazing_ friend, Heiwajima Shizuo! Meeting you was one of the best things to ever happen to me! You can make me happy just by listening to me go on and on about nothing while we eat lunch or... or even when you're being mean and pulling on my braid! You know me so well that I don't even have to tell you what's wrong for you to _just know_!"

He had no idea this was how she felt... He knew that Kat considered him a friend, yeah, but... Shizuo had no clue she cared so much about him before.

"Plus," she sniffled. "I know that you're secretly a big sap 'cause I've seen you cry while watching movies..."

"I told you before, I _didn't_ cry!" he snapped immediately, voice thick and more than a little defensive. She laughed then, the sound a relief to his ears.

Finally, he felt that painful knot in his chest _ease_ and replaced with something... lighter.

"Sorry I didn't show up so we could try that sushi place you wanted to try." he mumbled eventually, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "I... was hit by a truck."

"... _what_?" Katsuko croaked, unsure if she'd heard right. "A truck...? Like, a truck-truck? A _motor vehicle truck_? Shizuo you were hit by a car?!"

Shizuo let out a terse sigh, feeling an embarrassed flush creeping up his neck. "After classes were over some punks started a fight with me and then _some guy_ showed up and pissed me off, I ended up chasing the pest out into the street without looking where I was going, there was a truck and it sorta... hit me. But I feel fine now. I mean, I can still walk."

Maybe he should've kept his big mouth shut judging by how pale and sick-looking Kat suddenly got. Shit, that wasn't what he wanted. He just wanted to answer why he hadn't been able to show up in time! It was all _that damned flea's_ fault for pissing him off so much, too! If he hadn't, _then_ —Shizuo let out a harsh exhale and clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, trying to expel his anger without having to punch anyone. The only person around was Kat and he wasn't mad at _her_. Especially not after everything she'd just told him.

He had surprised her with the shove but now she was on-guard now, prepared not to let it happen again even if it wasn't actually her decision. It was one of the _very few things_ he and Kat actually had in common. Sometimes their bodies reacted without their permission. Then again, maybe they didn't even have _that_ in common. Where Shizuo always lashes out and destroys whatever is around him, Kat's instincts are to protect or defend. Just another reason why the two of them had no business being friends, despite what she says he is. Kat sees people better than they actually are.

Kat's hands were on his face again, he felt her thumb lightly brush against his cheek and he looked back down at her, her lips were pursed and brow was knit tightly as she looked back. He realized that something in his expression must've made her start to worry about him again.

She deserved better. She deserved a better friend than him. Shizuo really believed Kat deserved someone that wouldn't do shit to cause her to have an expression like that, not like he did. He was such a screw-up. They had no business being friends like they were, he knew it was only going to end one way. Things always end the same way when it comes to him. With him destroying everything he touched.

Still... a small, selfish part of him felt relived— _happy_ —that she worried about him. He also hated that part of himself.

"So, how did your day go?" he asked roughly, trying to change the topic from things that piss him off and his depressing thoughts. It helped marginally when the pinch in her brow eased.

Katsuko chuckled weakly, but she understood his intent.

"Well... I'm the, ah, newest female representative for my class! So that means I'm stuck doing the stuff nobody else wanted to do. That's why I had to stay behind today. And I'll have to go to meetings with the other class reps and talk about stuff I'm sure will be _so borrrrring_!" she whined to him half-heartedly.

A smile crinkled her face when he made a face that basically demanded; ' _Why? Are you an idiot?_ '

The two of them took a seat on the step of his porch and Shizuo felt his blood finally begin to cool as he listened to the sound of her voice and her smile. She began to tell him every detail of the day after they separated at lunch, making sure to emphasize all of the boring and non-stressful moments leading up to where they were now. He noticed how she didn't mention the time she must have waited for him to show. His heart had finally calmed by the time she was finished and they were saying their good nights.

He stood there for a couple minutes, even after she disappeared down the street and he couldn't see her anymore. It was then that he strangely found himself wishing that she'd stayed a little longer, so the two of them could just... talk.

Realizing that he'd just been standing there like an idiot, Shizuo shook his head of that silly thought and entered his house, pointedly ignoring the overly curious looks his family had on their faces when all three of them leaned their heads into the hall after he announced his return. He reminded himself that they talked all the time. It wasn't like this time was going to be the last. He'd see her again in the morning and he had no doubt she'd soon be talking his ear off then, too.

He found himself smiling, oddly looking forward to it.

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: "The Fight"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: Woah! This is a pretty long chapter! So much happened yet, a lot of stuff didn't? Like Kat being witness to the fated meeting! Instead she just had to deal with the aftermath of Izaya and Shizuo's encounter. Then there was all that unexpected angst from Shizuo and Kat ending with smiles, a stronger bond and... i** **s this...? Could it be that... what are these _feelings_ that are appearing?! Nineteen chapters in, it's about time, you darn procrastinator... ahem! **

**Anyways, with the High School plot finally underway, peoples are getting older and more hormonal so that means things are going to get steamy at some point. Yup, I'm going to be writing about sex. But don't worry, I will be giving _plenty_ of ample warning beforehand so it doesn't surprise you in case you want to skip it.**

 **In other news, the one-year Anniversary of Life is not a Shoujo Manga was last month, on the 1st of April, a _nd I completely spaced on it_. I ended up making a picture to celebrate it after I realized what happened, it's the new title picture with Kat, Shizuo and Izaya all there with the title. I posted it on my DeviantArt page: **_MissNanamiChan_ **in case anyone wanted to see it!**

 **As usual, I want to tell you guys that I wuv yew! See 'ya next time.**

 _-Nanami_


	22. Chapter Twenty, Dangerous Questions

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language. Violence.**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty: "Dangerous Questions"**

 _"Love and Hate are such strong words, they also cause so much pain."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

People have many Truths in their life.

Facts that are absolute in their nature and undeniable, no matter how hard a person could try and say that they weren't. They could deny one of these Truths until they were blue in the face—but that didn't mean it stopped being true or that they could do a damn thing to change it.

Shizuo would know. He's been fighting some Truths all his life.

" _I got fired without any warning! They even told me to leave the dorm as well!_ _I didn't get any severance pay, so I can't even afford food or rent! The government won't do anything to help! Yes, it's the government! It's all the government's fault!_ "

Shut up.

Shizuo's fingers itched to light up a cigarette as his annoyance flared to life. He inhaled deeply and tried to remain calm like Tom-senpai was as they listened to another dirt-bag in debt pathetically ramble on. He even began reciting a list of things that calmed him, picturing a happy place, all that crap.

It was working... somewhat.

"So, you got into debt over a hostess?" Tom confirmed wearily, shooting a worried glance over his shoulder at his increasingly tense partner. He really hoped they could get this one done without an incident happening. _Again_.

"That's _love_! Mint-chan and I truly love each other!" the scumbag declared simperingly.

His heart hammered in his chest. Loudly. _'Shut up.'_ Shizuo nearly growled aloud. His patience was quickly thinning, more than he would've like. The list wasn't working as well as he'd hoped it would, but everything would be fine if he could just keep calm for a few more minutes and allow Tom-senpai to—

"We can only meet in the club and I don't even know her cell number, b-but we are _truly in love_!"

 _Love?_

His pulse quickened.

No—

 _True Love?_

Shit.

" _Disgusting_!" he snarled. His body was already moving towards the scumbag. "You _only_ see each other at _the club_ —you don't even know _her cell number_!?"

The angered blonde man wrenched the nearby street sign from it's position on the sidewalk as easily as one would pluck a flower, terrifyingly so. The scumbag was staring up at him with eyes wide with fear and looked like he was just about to piss himself. Shizuo's mouth was pulled up into a sneer as he looked down at the _idiot_ that didn't know _what the hell he was talking about_!

"WHAT ABOUT THAT IS _TRUE LOOOOOVE_?!"

In one swift swing of the superhuman's arm, the scumbag was sent airborne, shouting in terror all the way down the street.

Shizuo hated violence. That was one of the Truths of his life.

Still, as he watched the limp body of that annoying guy fly down the street and disappear from his sight, Shizuo knew that there was no point in denying another very important Truth of his life. One that has plagued him for his as long as he could remember...

He had absolutely no control over his emotions.

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2002**_

 _ **(8 Years Ago)**_

* * *

Neither of them knew how exactly it happened.

With a small grunt of effort, Katsuko had thrown the latest fool that had tried to grab her (With the intent of using her as leverage. Ha!) over her shoulder with practiced ease and then proceeded to smooth out her skirt as she paid half-attention to the rest of the group attempting to overpower her super-powered best friend, still wondering how things turned out this way. One minute she and Shizu had been walking to Raijin Academy just as they had the day before, and the next thing either of them knew they were surrounded by hooligans on every side! Not that numbers ever mattered in the end. Not when they faced against Shizu.

The auburn-haired girl patiently waited on the side of the street with a smile for her friend to finish flinging hoodlums before they started walking again, Katsuko grabbing up his bookbag from where he abandoned it on the side of the street while he tried to calm his racing heart that was pumping with more than a little adrenaline.

"What was _with_ them?" she wondered aloud, mostly to herself because Shizu was still trying to calm down. She pursed her lips in thought as the Academy buildings came into view. "It's been forever since we've actually been stopped on our way to school for a fight!"

The blonde superhuman merely made an annoyed grunting sound as he glared at the path ahead of them, taking back his bag from her outstretched hand. He didn't like it. He didn't like anything about this situation. It was only the second day of the new school and he's already gotten into _three_ fights.

No, he didn't like this at all.

"Well, did you recognize their school uniforms?" she asked curiously, glancing up at the blonde. He mutely shook his head, still glowering. Katsuko sighed, stumped. "I didn't either. And the Gym gets students from all the schools nearby! Haah... that's really weird."

Katsuko thought more about it as they walked, soon reaching the Academy Gate and spotting other students sporting only school uniforms similar to theirs to her relief. Nothing else exciting happened before the pair split at the door to Shizuo's class and headed their separate ways. When she got to her class however, _that_ was a different story. Standing beside her desk was a boy she'd met just yesterday morning!

"Kititani-san!" she called in surprise, walking towards him and realizing that he had been talking to her seat-mate. Hearing her voice call out towards them, Izaya's eyes moved to her and Shinra had turned to face the girl with a confused frown. Was she talking to him?

"Good morning, Katsuko-chan." Izaya greeted cheerfully and Shinra's questioning look turned into one of surprise when he turned back to his friend.

"Orihara-kun, you know Sharaku-san?"

"Katsuko-chan babysits the Twins." he said easily, smiling as the shock registered on the doctor-in-training's face.

"Wait— _you're_ The Babysitter!?" Shinra gasped, spinning on his heel to point at Katsuko. "You are the one who tamed the ' _Terrible Twins_ '?!"

"They are sweet girls!" Katsuko replied immediately, snapping a glare to _Izaya_ who looked only amused. Not Shinra, who had been the one to call the girls by that. She blushed and averted her eyes to the side sheepishly when she realized that she snapped at the wrong boy. Meanwhile Izaya gave Shinra a look that said: ' _See what I mean?_ '

Shinra looked at Katsuko quizzically, very much like he had the other morning, wondering if there really was anything to the idea that she had an abnormality to her? First she had befriended _Shizuo_ of all people and then _tamed the Twins_! To his knowledge, anybody who has tried to do either one of those things always come away with either mental or physical trauma—And she ended up doing _both_ and seemed to come away without any crippling injuries! There just _had_ to be a secret to it! Thankfully, Izaya interrupted him before he could ask her for a sample of blood by asking his own question.

"So how do _you two_ know each other?" he asked casually, leaning his chin in his palm as he watched them. Shinra happily answered before Katsuko could, busy setting down her bag and already pulling supplies out in preparation for class.

"Ah! She's a friend of Heiwajima-kun! I met her yesterday on the way to school! Heiwajima-kun introduced us! Or, well, we introduced ourselves while he kept walking!" Shinra said with a laugh.

"Oh?" he said, his brown eyes sharpening. He turned in his seat to face the auburn-haired girl better. Izaya's smile remained easy, seemingly unaffected. "Is that so? You know _Heiwajima-kun_ , too, Katsuko-chan?"

Katsuko visibly brightened more, (If the boy thought it was possible) rosy lips stretching into a wide grin.

"He's my best friend!" she announced proudly.

Izaya's smile faltered, falling at the corners as his mind replayed the images from just yesterday. Of the destruction and violence that followed in that guy's wake as he chased him, unrelenting after being _hit by a truck_ and walking away with nothing more than a few scratches. He'd seen him this morning, too. He looked completely fine even after Izaya had informed that group of wannabe gangsters from the school district on the other side of the city that one _Heiwajima Shizuo_ was bragging about what cowards they were! They were blown off like they were less than even nothing.

It unsettled Izaya, deeply.

Shinra excused himself from their company to head to his own classroom with a brief goodbye and Katsuko went on setting up her desk, cheerfully oblivious to how Izaya's eyes were still looking after her intently.

How could this girl, this naïve and hopelessly earnest girl, call that guy a _friend_? Now, the Twins were an anomaly he could begrudgingly understand. They were manipulatively cute in an devilish, evil sort of way and Miss Babysitter seems to have a huge weakness for that kind of thing. He'd seen it in how she acts. She was forgiving in that way, as exampled in how she had forgiven him for pranking her without much effort on his part.

But for the guy that beats other people until they're too broken to get back up again? Izaya had a hard time accepting that.

Even _she_ had to have a limit to what she could love.

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2010**_

 _ **(Present Day)**_

* * *

" _Shizuo_!" Tom cried.

A cloud of debris erupted from the center of the plaza, causing the crowd of bystanders to let out shouts of alarm, eyes locking onto a middle-aged tabloid writer who had been sent flying twenty-feet into the air by a blonde man breathing heavily in a bartender's suit who was clutching the responsible streetlamp in his grip.

Now, one could argue that it was the reporter's fault for asking such annoyingly personal questions that had _nothing to do with him or his shitty tabloid_ —It could be considered the reporter's fault, _but_... a more rational and level-headed person could also point out that Shizuo was prone to this kind of behavior when he wasn't in the best of moods. More inclined to fly into a destructive rage or lash out when his thoughts led to nowhere good.

And he _really_ wasn't in a very good mood recently.

The twisted metal post dropped to the street with a noisy clatter and the blonde man stuffed his hands into his pockets before resuming his walk down the strip, the crowd quickly parting to allow him to pass unobstructed. He walked for a long time like that, trying to move further away from the crowds and lessen any chance of some dumbass pissing him off even more that night.

That scumbag from earlier... he hadn't known anything about what it meant to love that girl like he said. Not really. That kind of love wasn't real and wouldn't last, he would know.

Shizuo didn't much like thinking about that day. It had been the day when it all really started. He didn't like thinking about what she'd said.

Just like he didn't want to think about what her words had done to him.

Shizuo was still trying to kill his bad mood when he felt a presence come up on the road behind him. He turned to see a soundless motorcycle pull up on the side of the street beside him, it's rider dressed all in black except for the bright yellow helmet they wore.

"Celty." he greeted roughly, stopping his pace and nodding his head.

His friend returned the nod and pulled out her PDA from her sleeve, typing it's keyboard expertly. "Hi. Did something happen? You look—" she paused, thinking about her word choice. "Tense." she decided, showing the superhuman her message.

Shizuo grimaced.

"That obvious, huh?"

Celty nodded meekly.

Shizuo let out a long exhale and rubbed the back of his neck. He really wished he hadn't quit smoking, his fingers itched to hold a cigarette right about now.

"You want to talk about it?" she offered. She'd just got done with a job and had some time on her hands, Shinra wasn't expecting her for at least another hour or so. She could listen to her friend's problems for a while.

He thought about it, and shrugged.

"Sure."

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty: "Dangerous Questions"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: So I did that thing again where I write too much for one chapter and everything gets all cluttered and messy and I get stuck on the** _ **one line**_ **where it just doesn't fit and things get pushed back. Yanno, the** _ **usual**_ **. I eventually had to cut it up into two and THEN** _ **three**_ **different chapters until I came away with this! but at least it's finally done and I can look at it without wanting claw at something.**

 **Sorry for such the long wait, you guys! Hope you enjoyed it! I wuv yew all~!**

 _-Nanami_


	23. Chapter Twenty-One, The Reason

**Durarara! Fan Fiction!**

 **Drama! Romance!**

 **(Title)**

 **"** **Life is not a Shoujo Manga** **"**

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own 'Durarara!' or any of the characters!**

 **WARNING! RATED M! Language. Violence**

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One: "The Reason"**

 _"The beauty of love is, you can fall into it with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time."_

* * *

 _ **Date: April, 2002**_

 _ **(8 Years Ago)**_

* * *

It's hard sometimes, predicting someone's reaction to something. Depending on what's being said and who it is being said to, there are an impossible amount of reactions to account for. But now, if you narrow it down to someone that you know it would stand to reason that things become a tad clearer and easier to predict, right?

Not really, as it turns out. See, even if you think that you understand the character of the person down to knowing their preferred way to eat their eggs, they can still wind up surprising you in the most unexpected ways. So, what _does_ one do when faced with an unexpected reaction?

Do you just... roll with it?

Katsuko let out a quiet sigh, straightening up from her diligent note taking and brushing her braid back over her shoulder. With a few final words of welcome to the new years and apology for the absence of the Student Body President during the meeting, Vice President Himeko Ogawa left a good first impression on Katsuko. She was reserved and polite, but not to an unapproachable degree! It gave Katsuko hope they might become friends over this semester! She gathered up her notebook and pen and meekly made her way out of the student council room by her lonesome. Her male counterpart of Class 1-D had been a no show, much to Katsuko's annoyance. Though she supposed she shouldn't have expected much more considering the position was only filled after a handful of the boys had drawn lots and the loser had to do it. Shimure-san was not been pleased when he'd drawn the short stick.

She let out another little sigh.

" _There_ you are!" a voice exclaimed, causing Katsuko's head to snap up at attention. She looked down the hall to see none other than her dark-haired seatmate taking casual strides towards her. Even as he came to a stop in front of her, she blinked those teal eyes at him blankly as if she was still doubting his presence.

"What's that look for, Katsuko-chan?" he asked, smiling aloofly.

"O-Oh! I was just wondering why you were still in school so late! Everyone else from class left hours ago!" she rushed to explain, averting her eyes from simply _staring_ at him. Much to Izaya's amusement. "The only people left should be teaching staff, student council and class representatives! Unless, did you join a club yet? I still haven't decided on what clubs I should join. I mean, of course there's the Kendo Club and the Judo Club but I thought it might've been too on the nose—"

It happened almost too fast for Katsuko to see.

In the middle of her nervous babbling, Izaya's eyes had shifted to something over her shoulder and they widened. He had moved, slipping his arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest as he ducked to the side of the hall. Katsuko's heart leapt into her throat, the corner of her eye catching the sight of a familiar head of messy blonde hair.

She watched as Shizuo's fist went flying through where Izaya had just been standing.

Before Katsuko had time to even breathe there was a jerk on her arm and then she was being pulled down the hallway by Izaya, his hand wrapped firmly around her wrist as he ran. Behind them, she heard Shizu shout furiously before the sound of his footsteps began to charge after them and Izaya pulled her faster along. Her mind was spinning as they ran down corridors, past startled students and teachers alike. He took them through a shortcut in the gym to the front of the school and through the front gate, running them down the street towards the evening crowds. She didn't understand what was happening. Some bystanders shouted as Izaya burst past them without warning. _'Why was Shizu so mad?'_ He shouldn't be so mad without a reason for it!

 _'Have I done something wrong_?' she wondered dazedly.

Something _pinched_ inside her chest when she thought that, causing her to react by digging her heels into the cement much to Izaya's surprise and dismay. They both came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk and Kat turned around to face the livid superhuman charging at them at full speed— _fifteen feet to impact_ —Izaya let go of her wrist— _ten feet_ —Katsuko took a deep breath— _five feet_ —Shizuo's fist reared back—

" _Shizuo_! _STOP_!"

His body jerked and twisted at the last second, sending his fist cratering into the ground behind her. Around them, normal human beings shouted in alarm and retreated away from the girl and the blonde. Izaya was one of these that had moved to a safer distance, but something held him from slipping into the crowd. An unexpected reaction.

Shizuo's chest heaved with effort from the sprint, he was panting as he pulled his fist back up from the crater. The blood pounding in his ears quieted enough for him to stare unblinkingly at the spot that definitely wasn't the annoying bastard's ribcage, but a new hole that he had almost made in Kat. _Almost_ , though. Izaya, too, noticed how instead of continuing the attack like he had anticipated, Shizuo had diverted as soon as Katsuko had gotten in his way.

In this one instance, they both shared the same thought: _'What the hell was that?'_

They didn't get an answer to that question before Katsuko had gotten into Shizuo's face with wide eyes as she chewed on her bottom lip, looking like was about to bite through it. Shizuo jerked back in surprise as she began babbling.

"What's wrong?!" she asked worriedly, taking another step forward for every one he took back. "You just came outta nowhere and started swinging— _though you missed me but I thought that you might just be pissed and trying to surprise me_ —is this about the thing your Mom asked me about? I _swear_ , I didn't tell her anything, Shizu!"

"What? Kat—"

Izaya laughed then, directing two sets of eyes towards him. One infinitely less hostile than the other. Shizuo tried to step around Katsuko but she instinctively blocked him from moving forward as she looked between the two boys, both of whom she considered as her friends, hopelessly confused. The crowd that was now surrounding them was paid no attention as she dealt with one crazy situation.

"What is happening here?!" she demanded.

Izaya couldn't keep the smile off his face even though he really had tried to. It was too funny. "I have no clue, Katsuko-chan!" he said with the sound of laughter clear in his voice. "Maybe we should ask _Shizu-chan_?"

Shizuo made to lunge at Izaya's face again but Kat's hands had wrapped around his wrist and elbow, redirecting his forward momentum into a spin that had him facing the shorter girl again. He growled in immense frustration. "Kat, why the hell are you getting in my way!?" he demanded, yanking his arm out of her grip. She had let him go easily but watched him attentively. "How do you even know this piece of trash!?"

"He's my classmate!" she explained. Green-blue eyes glanced over to the dark-haired boy for the briefest of seconds before she elaborated further, mumbling it to herself mostly. "...and he's the older Twin's brother. N-Now it's your turn! Why are you _so mad_? And why at _him_?"

For a moment, Shizuo's expression had screwed up into one of confusion before his hazel eyes widened and he turned a look of renewed fury towards the Orihara boy. Kat stepped in the way of his death glare and spread her arms out in a lame attempt to blockade him. They both knew that wouldn't work. Unless she got a hold on him, she would never be able to stop him if he wanted to get by. She didn't repeat her question, she only looked up at him with those big dopey eyes of hers.

Shizuo scowled. He hated when she did that. It always made him feel weird. Taking a deep— _really_ deep—breath, he managed to clear his head enough to think semi-clearly even though he still very much felt like cracking that guy's skull open. He didn't try to attack again, but he spoke through gritted teeth as his hazel eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare aimed at the teen cowering over his friend's shoulder.

"He's the _pest._ " he seethed.

Kat's brow furrowed immediately.

"The one that—" she stopped, seeing his angered glare and finally _getting it_. It felt like her breath had been caught and then stolen from her chest when she turned and saw a pair of brown eyes filled with nothing less than droll amusement. She'd seen that look before, when she had found him waiting for her after he had sent that false emergency about Kururi. He was the one who... "That was _you_ , Uzaiya-san?" she asked quietly.

Izaya's smile withered up as a wicked grin stole across Shizuo's face. Never before had the blonde been happier for Kat's inability to get a person's name right. This was not a moment he would be forgetting for the _rest of his life_. Izaya, however, was far less than amused.

"My name is _Izaya_ , Katsuko-chan. _I-za-ya_." he corrected with a frown.

Katsuko had blinked those big blue-green eyes at him cluelessly. Then her cheeks flushed with embarrassment once she realized she had messed up once again. "O-Ohh..." she mumbled. Then she remembered that she was actually angry with the dark-haired boy and scowled at him, pressing her fists to her sides. "But, _no_ —You cut Shizu! Why would you do that!?"

"He tried to kill me first," he defended immediately, shrugging. "All I had said was; ' _hello_ ' and the next thing I knew, he was charging towards me like a wild beast! He completely demolished the table I'd been sitting on, like it was nothing!" Izaya pressed his hand to his heart, widening his eyes in an imitation of the cutesy manipulation his little sisters always pulled. "I only reacted because I felt my life was in danger. If I hadn't moved then I might have _died_ , Katsuko-chan."

"I'LL FIX THAT RIGHT NOW, YOU BASTARD!" Shizuo roared, moving around a dumbstruck Katsuko. She was quick to stumble in front of her friend to stop him from starting over again, spreading her arms to block him from moving past. He wasn't going to run off and get hit by another vehicle on her watch!

Seeing no immediate danger with the auburn-haired girl in the way, Izaya allowed himself to relax enough to observe how Shizuo snarled and stomped around like a true wild beast. Every time he saw him, Izaya would swear that he acted less and less like a human being. And to think that silly Miss Babysitter persisted in considering him to be a so-called ' _friend_ ' of hers even now when he was acting like some kind of rabid animal! Didn't she realize that he could very easily tear her in half if the mood struck him? That earlier miss aside, there wasn't a doubt in Izaya's mind that given the right incentive, Shizuo wouldn't hesitate to happily break naïve Miss Babysitter to little pieces without remorse. The thought of this Monster breaking one of his Humans before he was finished having his fun left a bad taste in his mouth.

"You really are nothing but mindless instinct, aren't you?" Izaya commented with a humorless smirk. Shizuo looked up at him, nostrils flaring like a bull. "Leaving nothing but destruction and ruin as you go. Just, breaking everything in your path without a care, huh? Haha... it's sad to watch, honestly. Katsuko-chan is trying _sooo hard_ but I've got to wonder how long it is until you just—"

He snapped his fingers together, the sound echoing across the near-empty campus and in Shizuo's ears. Shizuo had stopped moving, every muscle in his body becoming exceedingly rigid as he met Izaya's taunting gaze.

"Snap?" he asked, voice deceptively light and airy. "Tell me, Shizu-chan, just how much will be left over of poor Katsuko-chan when you finally lose it?"

"SHUT UUUUP!" Shizuo roared, digging his fingers into the palms of his hands. _'What the hell did this shitty flea know?!'_ A white-hot anger filled his veins as he watched the smug smirk stretch across that bastard's face. Shizuo decided that he really was going to kill him. He was going to kill that _annoying_ _ **loud**_ _irritating_ little PEST until he was dead. Maybe then he'd learn not to shoot off his mouth about things he had no goddamned idea about! Like Shizuo would ever—

— _He reached up and yanked her hands away from his face, pushing them back into her chest. She stumbled a few steps back from the force, the back of her heel hitting the porch step, and Shizuo's heart lurched in his chest as she fell backwards—_

Hurt... Kat. A chill shuddered through his bones and unconsciously Shizuo's eyes darted towards his friend, whose attention was now solely focused on Izaya.

 _She said he was the first person to make her feel like she wasn't alone anymore._

Hazel eyes strayed down to her bandaged palm and he tried to ignore what happened next. Springing up inside his chest, he tried to ignore that feeling. Even as his expression twisted into a look of obvious guilt, Shizuo tried to ignore the feeling of that tight, _painful_ knot wedging itself back into his chest again.

 _She told him that he made her happy by just being him, right? That being himself was enough for her? Even with everything that was wrong with him?_

Seeing the guilty look spread across the other boy's face before it was washed away with a mask of fearsome anger, Izaya's smirk widened in satisfaction. His gaze had followed the blonde's down to the bandage and he came to his own conclusions. Slipping his hand into the pocket of his black jacket, he palmed the switchblade and got ready to bolt the moment the beast blew his top. _'Shouldn't be too long now,'_ he thought to himself. _'He's like a bomb waiting to go off. All it takes is finding the right button to push annnnnd... boom~'_

"Ohh-ho? What's that on Katsuko-chan's palm?" he whistled, looking back up at the blonde ogre. "Have you already started, then? Or could it be... that it's not the _first time_ you've hurt her?"

That knot in Shizuo's chest _twisted_.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" he roared, even as his mind began to spin.

It was true. Everything he touched, he _wrecked and left in pieces behind him_. That was a fact that he'd learned the hard way. Whatever Kat saw in him to make her think he was worth befriending was just her seeing what she wanted to see. He wasn't anything more than this cursed strength of his. He knew that and she would know that too if she stopped being so damn blind to it. He hated how helpless he felt when he couldn't control himself more than anything. Unwillingly, he looked at the faces of the crowd around them, seeing their expressions of fear and unease as they watched for what he'd attack next. _Who_ he'd attack next.

It was only a matter of time before he snapped again.

"Really, now, _Shizu-chan_. That doesn't seem very friendly to me! I know that _I_ would never harm _my_ best friend. Are you sure you're capable of interacting with normal human beings without resorting to excessive acts of violence?" he asked, mocking the term that Miss Babysitter herself had used. Izaya was smiling unkindly, his dark brown eyes were burning with a contempt that he rarely ever expressed as he looked at the blonde beast in front of him.

A cold, tingling feeling shot through Shizuo's chest and spread all the way out to his fingertips. _Yeah_... he had a good point there. Shizuo knew that Kat would never do anything to hurt him, even unintentionally. She just wasn't capable of it. But _him_? He could hurt her at anytime.

"Yeah, you're probably right..." he said calmly, drawing surprise from Izaya and alarming Katsuko. Her eyes darted up to his face to see his eyes were shadowed by his hair, showing only a glimpse of cold hazel. He continued, so eerily calm that Izaya's smile had faltered. "Kat's weird and sees the best in people, even when there isn't any. She'd be ten times better off hanging out with anybody other than a violent guy like me."

His teeth grit together tightly and his lips pulled back into a horrifyingly enthusiastic grin, one that promised immense pain and suffering towards the victim it was intended for. As he locked eyes with Izaya, the vein in Shizuo's forehead bulged and he let go of all reason.

"Well... anybody else but _you_."

The warm hand Kat had thoughtlessly placed on his arm fell away, his name faintly slipping past her lips as he left her side and walked towards one of the cherry blossom trees that grew on the side of the street. The faceless crowd scrambled to get out of his path as they watched on with baited breath. Pink petals swayed and danced around his dyed-blonde hair on their way downwards as he dug his fingers into the bark, one growl of effort leaving his chest before he tore the tree from its rightful place. Gasps of shock and exclamations of awe flooded the crowd. The poor tree groaned as it was lifted over his head, clumps of dirt and grass falling from the gnarled roots to the ground at his feet.

When he'd turned back around, the _pest_ already had his blade out. He was smiling in some _smug_ _ **annoying**_ _shitty_ way that had the blood pounding in Shizuo's ears. His vision was the first thing to go as he stalked forward. Narrowing back into a pinpoint focus on Izaya, and Izaya alone as he was intent on smashing the bug like he should've done last time. Izaya's mouth was moving but the rushing of his blood began to ring loudly in his ears, making it harder to hear what the pest was saying now. Didn't matter. He wouldn't be saying anything any more in a moment.

His chest heaved with his breath as his muscles wound taut, ready to bring the tree down on the pest's head. Izaya's knife flashed, his lips parted and—his head jerked back as something small and white collided with his face. Izaya stumbled backwards and clutched his throbbing nose in shock before looking down at the object he had been assaulted with. A white, size 8 shoe sat innocently at his feet.

"What the hell?" he muttered, glaring at it over his fingers. He glanced up to see Shizuo turning his head in the same direction the shoe had— _THWACK!_ —Izaya choked on a laugh when an identical shoe smacked into the blonde's face, as well. The shoe had bounced off his head, spinning in the air before it joined it's twin on the ground. Shizuo's face was now purple with rage as they both turned to see Katsuko with her hands planted firmly on her hips as she scowled at the two of them.

She began marching up to them in her socks.

" _Kat_ ," Shizuo hissed, two seconds away from throwing the tree at _her_. Did she seriously just throw her _shoe_ —he bared his teeth in a threatening snarl as she came to stand in between him and the flea again. "What. The. _HELL_ —"

She jabbed her finger into the center of the superhuman's chest, the impact causing the fragile petals clinging to the tree to flutter down on their heads and land in their hair. "I'll get to _you_ in a second, Mister!" she snapped.

Shizuo sputtered in shock at her sharp tone, also causing a smile to quirk Izaya's lips. His curiosity was piqued by Miss Babysitter's waspish rebuke towards the brute. He wasn't happy with how she'd hit him with her shoe, but he found it a bit more bearable after _Shizu-chan_ got hit, too. The look on his face was one Izaya would not be forgetting soon. Though with the way she looked like she was about hit him with another shoe, he couldn't help but wonder what could be going through her mind at this moment...?

Katsuko's braid flew over her shoulder as she spun on her heel to face the dark-haired troublemaker, her eyes meeting Izaya's woefully _amused_ gaze. "And _you_ —" She leveled her finger at Izaya's nose, her lips pressed in a tight frown. "Ignore what he just said; Shizu is a big idiot sometimes!"

Izaya blinked, unsure that he'd just heard that _right_ —Katsuko began to ramble without taking a breath, either oblivious or purposely overlooking the wide-eyed stares both boys were now giving her. "Okay, so he doesn't think things through when he's angry, but he's far from being _mindless_! He doesn't go on destructive sprees around the city! He _loves_ Ikebukuro! And even though he doesn't say so, I know that he feels _really bad_ whenever he does get mad and breaks things!"

From behind her, Shizuo's body tensed as he became more aware of how he was still elevating the cherry tree over them. Petals still fluttering down around them. A slow flush of heat crept up his neck as he had the damnedest urge to put the tree back in case Kat had been to oblivious to notice it. He glanced back to where he'd uprooted it. You never know, she actually might not have yet...

"But you know what? So what if he breaks things!? They're just _things_! Things can be replaced—but Shizuo _can't_! He is my best friend and I wouldn't want him to be anyone other than who he is! He gets into fights a lot and he can look really scary sometimes, but that isn't who he is! He is so _kind_ and _compassionate_ under that! He loves his little brother more than anything and _he_ is the one who looks out for _me_ when I get into trouble! Like this one time with the—No! Wait! That isn't important right now!" she scolded herself, slapping her hands against both sides of her face to focus. "My point is that he always has my back! He's the one that walks with me every day to school, even though it's out of his way. He's the one that cheers me up when I'm feeling down or when I get stressed about studying _and he always saves the last strawberry milk for me!_ "

By the time that Katsuko had finished her over-sharing she was panting for breath, hardly pausing throughout the entire rant. Everyone was quiet. Izaya, Shizuo and the growing crowd of spectators did not utter a word as she collected herself again. Eventually the dark-haired teen in front of her straightened up and slid his hands into his pockets, expression relaxing into something neutral and unaffected. Izaya's eyes were cold when he looked back at her. Filled with a sort of dissatisfied emotion Katsuko recognized intimately, causing her stomach to churn uncomfortably.

A look of _disappointment_.

Still, Katsuko balled her fists and held her chin high. Her voice only wavered for a moment before she regained her out-spoken confidence. "So even... even if he doesn't see it himself, I know what the kind of person Shizuo is! And if you tried to see it for yourself then you'd find out that Shizuo is one of the kindest, gentlest and most thoughtful people you could ever have the chance of calling friend!"

Some of the women in the crowd ' _awwed_ ' at Katsuko's passionate declaration, most murmuring among themselves as they tried to reconcile the person she described to the tree-wielding superhuman before them now. She didn't wait to listen to Izaya's reply before she had turned on her heel again and focused her full attention back on her blonde best friend, the action causing said blonde's body to instinctively tense in defense.

"And _you_!" she began, voice nearly trembling with raw emotion. Shizuo's gut stirred with a feeling reminiscent to guilt as a sheen of water started up in her eyes. "It was only _last night_ that I laid out all my feelings to you, and you _still_ have the guts to say to my face that I should try and _find another friend_!? Are you taking my feelings lightly?!"

His mouth fell open wordlessly before he promptly shoved his foot into it and began tripping over his every word as Katsuko slowly grew more and more incensed.

"Kat, I didn't mean it like that—I mean, I _did_ but—"

"So you _are_! Even after _everything_ I told you!"

"I'm just trying to say that you shouldn't have to worry about me going berserk—"

"I cannot _believe_ you! What do you want me to do to prove myself?! Shout it from the rooftops for the rest of the world!?"

" _Kat, if you just shut up and listened to me for one damn minute_ —"

"HEEEEEYYY!" Kat threw her head back and Shizuo watched in horror as she began to shout at the top of her lungs. "HEIWAJIMA SHIZUO IS A REALLY NICE GUY AND I AM SOOOO HAPPY THAT HE IS MY BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD _AND I LOVE HIM_!"

The cherry tree abruptly dropped from Shizuo's hands and landed precariously on the long sidewalk, onlookers yelping and scrambling out of the away as it tipped over on its side, landing harmlessly and causing an eruption of petals to fly into the air. Katsuko looked at it in surprise right before she was lifted off her shoeless feet into the air. She blinked only once before her world tilted and the fallen tree was moving farther away, or more precisely, _she_ was the one being moved. It took her a moment longer than it ought've before she realized that Shizu had picked her up, placed her on his shoulder and had began walking away from the scene.

Before he faded away into the crowd, Katsuko had seen Izaya watch them go with a look of extreme dissatisfaction on his face. She didn't have time at the moment to mourn the loss of her friendship with her seatmate, or to contemplate the cruel and taunting nature she had witnessed from him today. She felt a breeze on her thighs and was reminded of the arm that was wrapped around the back of her knees to keep her from falling, her priorities shifting back into focus.

" _SHIZU_! PUT ME _DOWN_!" she screeched, fruitlessly smacking her fist against his back while the other reached around to hold her skirt down. After showing no signs of relenting, Katsuko began to wriggle around, oblivious to the gasps and looks of incredulity they received as Shizuo proceeded to march her down the busy Ikebukuro district. Continuing to ignore her protests, she attempted to twist around in her position to see her best friend's face, to no avail.

Hidden beneath a mop of messy blonde hair, Shizuo's brow was twitching like crazy and his face colored a glowing shade of red. He kept his head down as he made his way through the crowd that quickly parted after seeing his dark aura. He also was mumbling quietly to himself about how stupid she was to shout all that in front of all those people. Saying that _she loved him_! He'd never heard anything more ridiculous come out of her mouth before! It wasn't bad enough that she had just went on and on about all the things she considered to be _good_ —She was just so... so _embarrassing_! Only she could get away with being so dumb and nice at the same time! She hadn't meant anything more by it, he knew. It was just Kat was being Kat and saying stupid things without thinking them through all the way, but... but _nothing_! It was nothing. It was just Katsuko being her weird self and saying a bunch of weird stuff.

Even as he trudged down the street, Shizuo's heart kinda raced in his chest when he replayed her words in his head, something funny bounced around in his gut, and then he couldn't wipe the damn smile off his face. The weirdest feeling of his racing heart countered how... _at ease_ he felt at that moment. Kat's fists against his shoulder became half-hearted and his steps slowed to a relaxed pace as the sun disappeared behind the skyline. Looking at the time, Shizuo decided that it was probably too late to try and go back for the things they left behind at school. So it'd be pointless to go back there, but Shizuo also didn't want to leave her at her house yet. Not until after he found a way to make it up to her after what he'd said.

Seeing a flyer in the ground, an idea struck him.

"...Kat?" he spoke up.

"Whaaaaaaat..." she whined petulantly, limply hanging from his shoulder now.

"Do you still wanna go to that Sushi place?"

A beat of silence. He didn't turn to see what her expression was. She began wriggling again.

"Oh! Oh! Can we, Shizu? Can we, _please_?"

He rolled his eyes with a socff, heading in the direction of the restaurant.

"Tch. I'm the one that asked _you_!"

"I wonder what kind of food Russian Sushi is? Hey Shizu, do you think they do other country's sushi too? Oh! Do you think they have California rolls?! I used to love eating those back when—" Katsuko continued to ramble in that cheerfully distracting way as Shizuo walked. The urge to punch something (Preferably himself after everything that just transpired) was ever-constant. But, he wasn't as angry anymore. It never usually lasted very long when Kat was nearby, oddly enough.

There was still something bouncing around in his stomach, yeah. And his chest still felt a bit funny every time he heard Kat's smile in her voice, but he was sure it would go away as soon as he ate something.

* * *

 **Chapter Twenty-One: "The Reason"**

 **END**

* * *

 **A/N: This is it! I've been holding onto this for a while but then it hit me. It's Christmas! I want to share! Sorry about such a long wait since the last update but I promise that I only take so long just to make sure to give you guys only the best of my abilities! Anyways, I have some more chapters to post for some other stuff! Happy holidays and I wish you a GREAT New Years! I'll see you guys in 2020!**

 **Special thanks to my great friend ClosetCase for helping me with the chapter! I really couldn't have gotten this chapter done without your help and advice! And a big thank you to all you wonderful readers who keep me inspired with your reviews! Thank you!**

 **I love you all, remember that and stay warm wherever you are!**

 _-Nanami_


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